Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) introduced legislation that would scrap the 500-employee cap for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, in order to expand the reach of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Limiting Infant Fatality and Empowering Nonprofit Organization Workforces (LIFE NOW) Act, would allow larger nonprofits to see economic relief, while also ensuring that abortion providers do not have access to the taxpayer-funded loan 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,” Sen. Loeffler said in a statement. “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.”
GOP Sens. Mike Rounds (SD), James Lankford (OK) and Kevin Cramer (ND) signed onto the legislation to expand PPP for non-profits and protect taxpayers from funding abortions.
This legislation is timely, as Planned Parenthood managed to be approved for nearly $80 million dollars PPP loans. The nation’s largest abortion provider is not a small business, by any means, and is certainly not worthy of taxpayer funding during a global health crisis. Planned Parenthood receiving the loans is a clear violation of PPP affiliation rules, and lawmakers are now calling for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to look into how this happened:
Senate Small Business Cmte Chair Rubio says Planned Parenthood shouldn't have gotten PPP money. Says "the SBA should open an investigation into how these loans were made in clear violation of the applicable affiliation rules"
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 20, 2020
McConnell on Senate flr on Planned Parenthood getting CARES money. Says it "took advantage of taxpayer dollars that were clearly not able to receive...
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 20, 2020
Rubio on coronavirus money going to Planned Parenthood: They just don’t qualify under the affiliate..So they need to return the money and if they did this knowingly, they need to be held accountable. And whoever helped them do this knowingly, they have to be held accountable.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 20, 2020