Abortion giant Planned Parenthood, which has been allowed to remain open under stay-at-home orders in a number of states as "essential services," falsely took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program. After applying and despite not being a small business, $80 million in taxpayer money was sent to the organization to further fund their abhorrent, life ending practices.
Thirty-seven Planned Parenthood affiliates applied for and received a total of $80 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” has learned — and now the federal government wants the money back, saying the affiliates should have known they weren’t eligible for the coronavirus stimulus payouts.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is reaching out to each involved Planned Parenthood affiliate explaining that affiliates of larger organizations with more than 500 employees aren’t eligible for PPP distributions, Fox News is told. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA) alone has had more than 600 employees.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse is ripping the move.
“Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, tried to defraud taxpayers during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. 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,” Sasse said.
Senator Marco Rubio is also weighing in.
“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,” Rubio said in a statement. “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.”
During an interview in recent weeks, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned against fraud and said those who knowingly abused the program will be held accountable. The Department of Justice is also on alert to prosecute criminal wrongdoing.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned on Wednesday that companies that received coronavirus rescue money intended for small businesses could be investigated if it appears they did not really need the money.
Mnuchin said on Fox Business Network it was “questionable” whether some larger companies qualified for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), based on a self-certification step in the loan process. He said businesses need to look carefully at their applications to be sure they can certify that the forgivable loans of up to $10 million are necessary.
The agency’s criminal division plans to closely scrutinize the PPP using data analytics techniques similar to those used to sniff out healthcare fraud.
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