The Nation : 30 on Bush Staff Sue to Bar Drug Tests

Employees in the Executive Office of the President have sued President Bush in federal court to block mandatory random drug tests as unnecessary and unconstitutional. Although President Ronald Reagan launched his effort 2 1/2 years ago to ensure that the federal government is free of drugs by personally providing a urine sample, drug testing has yet to begin in the White House complex, the Washington Post reported. The suit by 30 employees is one of more than 50 filed governmentwide to stop drug testing. But the attack on a high priority Administration program by employees on the President’s own staff may be a first, according to White House officials. The White House plans to test 1,520 of 1,850 employees in the agencies that make up the Executive Office of the President such as the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council and the Council of Economic Advisers.