Mustache Bill Puts Congressman In Hairy Situation

A Republican congressman from Maryland is in a hairy situation over a proposal to give tax breaks to Americans with mustaches.

The American Mustache Institute claimed Tuesday that Rep. Roscoe Bartlett had lent his support to the `Stache Act, which calls for a tax deduction of up to $250 a year for facial hair grooming.

But Bartlett's office said he never supported the measure. Staffers said Wednesday that they only forwarded a copy of the proposal to the House Ways & Means Committee, without the congressman's knowledge, after receiving a media inquiry about it. That led the institute to believe Bartlett, who has long had a mustache, supported the measure.

"For the record: Roscoe is pro-stache, but he does not believe Americans should pay for people's personal grooming decisions," Bartlett's chief of staff, Deborah Burrell, said in a statement.

So far, no other representatives have supported the mustache proposal.

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