The House and Senate both approved a payroll tax cut bill on Friday that would extend unemployment benefits through 2012.
But according to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the extension is hardly the bill's crowning achievement.
"They're extending unemployment, too, but the big thing that we get is no longer can a welfare recipient walk into a strip club and get money out of an ATM machine to pay for a lap dance," she told conservative radio host Mark Levin on Thursday night. "Now, I'm not making this up. That's the big thing that we get out of this bill."
According to the bill, welfare recipients won't be able to use government-issued debit cards to get cash through ATM's at strip clubs, casinos or liquor stores. The ban is similar to one included in a House bill proposed earlier this month by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.).
Questioned by Levin whether this use of welfare funds was a major problem, Bachmann replied, "Welfare recipients across the country, Mark, have been using their welfare cards -- they look like credit cards, it's a debit card. They get these debit cards, they can walk into a casino, they can walk into a liquor store, they can walk into a strip club and if there's an ATM machine in there, they can use their welfare card, draw down the money and use it to pay for gambling, lap dances."
Bachmann, who is running for a fourth term after dropping out of the GOP presidential race, called the issue "unbelievable."
"People need to be outraged by this, because we are literally going into hock and reducing our standard of living to keep this kind of ridiculous spending up," she said. "That's a problem."
10 more election stories from outside the presidential field:
Arizona Super PACs See Few Donations [Arizona Republic]
California Senate Leader Worried About Three Dueling Tax Measures [Los Angeles Times]
Nancy Pelosi Endorses DNC Gay Marriage Plank [The Hill]
New South Carolina District's GOP Primary Is Wide Open [Roll Call]
Herman Cain To Campaign With Pete Hoekstra [Talking Points Memo]
Scott Brown Surges In New Poll [National Journal]
Connie Mack Struggled With Personal Debt, Records Show [Miami Herald]
Candidate For D.C. 'Shadow Senator' Is A Convicted Felon [The Washington Post]
George Allen Lays Out Blueprint For Comeback [The Roanoke Times]