Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA) affiliates obtained $80 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans meant to assist businesses impacted by coronavirus response policies, and now the federal government is demanding the money back, saying the affiliates should have known they weren’t eligible for the coronavirus stimulus payouts.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has begun notifying those 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates that organizations with more than 500 employees, such as PPFA, were not eligible for those loans, and therefore must return the money, Fox News reports.
Additionally, affiliates could face more “severe penalties” than just repayment, such as “criminal or civil punishment“, if they are found to have knowingly made false statements on their loan applications, the SBA warned.
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LifeSiteNews report: While action is reportedly being taken to correct the situation now, the revelation has spurred questions as to how Planned Parenthood was able to obtain the money in the first place.
“There is no ambiguity in the legislation that passed or public record around its passage that organizations such as Planned Parenthood, whose parent organization has close to half a billion dollars in assets, is not eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
“Those funds must be returned immediately. Furthermore, the SBA should open an investigation into how these loans were made in clear violation of the applicable affiliation rules and if Planned Parenthood, the banks, or staff at the SBA knowingly violated the law all appropriate legal options should be pursued.”
“Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, tried to defraud taxpayers during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) declared.
“The Paycheck Protection Program is supposed to be a lifeline for small businesses, not a slush fund for Big Abortion. The administration needs to reclaim that money and fire the bureaucrats who signed off on this scam.”
On Wednesday, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) introduced the Limiting Infant Fatality and Empowering Nonprofit Organization Workforces (LIFE NOW) Act, which would eliminate the 500-employee limit on noprofits’ eligibility for PPP, while at the same time disqualifying nonprofits involved in abortion from the program.
“The Paycheck Protection Program was created to keep American small businesses afloat and keep their workers on payroll amid the coronavirus pandemic, not to provide government funding for abortions,” Loeffler said.
“Abortion providers shouldn’t get a dime of this taxpayer lifeline. It is critical that Congress pass my LIFE NOW Act to lift restrictions preventing larger pro-family nonprofit organizations from receiving PPP relief and to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortion providers.”
Planned Parenthood is currently planning a $5 million campaign to bombard election battleground states with advertising against state efforts to suspend elective abortions as part of COVID-19 emergency measures.
