Boustany said the goal is to prevent these establishments from accepting payment via electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which are used to distribute benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the block-grant welfare program created in 1996.
“This legislation ensures taxpayers dollars in this program are being used in the manner they were intended: to help those that need it most,” Boustany said. “By prohibiting welfare funds on EBT cards from being accessible in strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos, H.R. 3567 seeks to prevent the fraudulent misuse of funds within the TANF system.”
{mosads}The bill, H.R. 3567, sets out very specific definitions of the retailers from which states must work to keep welfare money away. “Liquor store” is defined as any store that sells “exclusively or primarily intoxicating liquor,” which does not include grocery stores that sell liquor.
“Casino” is defined in a way that also does not include grocery stores that might be located in the same complex of a casino.
The bill defines strip clubs as “any retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.”
— This story was updated at 9:21 a.m.