McConnell and Senate Republicans Urge DOJ to Investigate Improper PPP Funding for Planned Parenthood

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Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and 25 other Senators today in sending a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr urging the Department of Justice to investigate whether dozens of Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country applied for and received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) despite knowing they were ineligible to apply.

Under the statutory text of the CARES Act, organizations like these affiliates were expressly prohibited from receiving PPP funds. Additionally, the Small Business Administration confirmed last month that its standing affiliation rules apply to the new PPP, which excludes organizations like Planned Parenthood that employ its type of governance and affiliation structure and exceed the cap on total employees.

“As the coronavirus waged a health and economic crisis on Kentucky families, I was proud to lead the Senate in passing the largest economic rescue package in history. One of the centerpieces of the CARES Act is the Paycheck Protection Program, which is helping more than 44,000 Kentucky job creators pay their workers and keep their lights on. It’s disturbing to hear that dozens of Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide fraudulently took advantage of this program, breaking with both the spirit and the letter of the law” said Senator McConnell. “Along with Senator Cotton and many of my other pro-life colleagues, I’m calling on Attorney General Barr to fully investigate this unlawful abuse that led to abortion providers stealing millions of taxpayer dollars. The CARES Act was passed to save lives, not to help Planned Parenthood destroy them.”

The letter reads, in part:

“The Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act was designed by Congress to help struggling small businesses and nonprofit organizations by giving them access to low-cost loans for expenses like keeping their employees on payroll during this pandemic. It was not designed to give government funds to politicized, partisan abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. The funds in the program are not unlimited, and were depleted once already because of high demand. Planned Parenthood fraudulently taking tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help keep those small businesses and nonprofit organizations afloat cannot stand and must be addressed.”

They were joined by fellow Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), David Perdue (R-GA), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD) and Todd Young (R-IN).

The full text of the letter can be found below or by clicking here.