Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have asked the Small Business Administration (SBA) to report how Planned Parenthood received COVID relief funds under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The PPP was “created to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic to preserve jobs and prevent establishment closures,” a statement on SBA’s website says.
The first Trump administration determined that Planned Parenthood was ineligible for PPP loans.
“On May 19, 2020, SBA notified a number of PPFA affiliates that they had wrongfully applied for 38 PPP loans totaling more than $80 million dollars. SBA determined that these local affiliates of PPFA [Planned Parenthood Federation of America] were ineligible for PPP loans under the applicable affiliation rules and size standards and that the loans they received should be returned,” Ernst and Paul wrote to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Despite this determination, the SBA, under the Biden Administration, approved further loans in 2021 totaling nearly $40 million. Further, the SBA then allowed at least 34 Planned Parenthood PPP loans to be forgiven.”
The senators have since “repeatedly sought out” information surrounding the loans.
Upon questioning then-Associate Administrator of SBA’s Office of Capital Access Patrick Kelley in 2021, Kelley said the SBA “had not reversed the longstanding application of affiliation rules or changed any rule related to affiliation,” suggesting the loans received by PPFA were unlawful.
“Borrowers who made incorrect or false eligibility certifications on their PPP application are subject to severe penalties,” the senators wrote. “For this reason, we respectfully request that you investigate whether any PPFA affiliates made a knowingly false certification on their applications for PPP loans, and upon findings of false certification, pursue all appropriate penalties for any unlawful participation in the program.”
