Federal Government Demands Planned Parenthood Return $80 Million in Loans Meant for Small Business Relief During COVID-19

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Planned Parenthood took advantage of the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program(PPP) meant to assist businesses with fewer than 500 employees by taking over $80 million in loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Planned Parenthood is obviously not a small business and should have been ineligible for those loans. “While each Planned Parenthood affiliate has fewer than 500 employees, nationwide it has over 16,000 employees,” a Trump administration official told the Daily Signal. “So when applying PPP’s affiliation rules neutrally, it’s clear that Planned Parenthood is one large employer and not eligible for PPP money.”

A Fox News report says the SBA will contact every Planned Parenthood affiliate that took loans to explain the rules and demand that the money back. The SBA also said that loan recipients could receive "severe penalties" if it was found that PPP recipients submitted fraudulent information when applying for funds.

Marco Rubio called for an investigation into the incident: “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.”

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