A new U.S. Senate bill would prohibit Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities from getting coronavirus aid funds that are meant to help small businesses.
Townhall reports U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of Georgia, is the lead sponsor of the Limiting Infant Fatality and Empowering Nonprofit Organization Workforces (LIFE NOW) Act.
Though it was not supposed to, Planned Parenthood already has reaped in about $80 million through the PPP program – taking away the money from small businesses that are hurting amid the shut-downs.
“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,” Loeffler said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar abortion chain, and it aborts more unborn babies than any other group in the U.S. Though President Donald Trump and pro-life lawmakers have worked to defund it, many of their efforts have been thwarted by pro-abortion Democrats and lawsuits filed by the abortion industry.
“Abortion providers shouldn’t get a dime of this taxpayer lifeline,” Loeffler said. “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.”
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Her legislation also would expand the aid program to allow more faith-based organizations to apply, according to the report.
Co-sponsors of the legislation include U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer, of North Dakota, James Lankford, of Oklahoma, and Mike Rounds, of South Dakota, all Republicans.
Late Tuesday, Fox News broke news that the Planned Parenthood abortion chain improperly applied for and received $80 million in federal funds meant for small businesses. Pro-life advocates are calling on the Trump administration to make the abortion giant repay the money.
The rules and regulations associated with the PPP program specifically prohibit affiliates of large organizations with more than 500 employees from receiving money. That covers Planned Parenthood because the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA) has more than 600 employees.
However, the abortion chain skirted the rules by applying through its affiliates. According to the report, 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates received the funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties in California received the largest loan of $7.5 million.
Reports indicate the Trump administration is already taking steps to recover the funds and investigate how the applications were approved.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, told Fox News that Planned Parenthood violated the PPP rules.
“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. Those funds must be returned immediately,” Rubio said.
“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,” he continued.
The abortion chain closed a number of its U.S. facilities temporarily during the crisis, and thousands more affiliated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation also temporarily shut down. Meanwhile, other Planned Parenthood facilities advertised being open for “abortion services only” during the pandemic.
Planned Parenthood aborted nearly 346,000 babies last year while reaping in $1.6 billion in revenue. It has been accused of discriminating against its pregnant employees and selling aborted baby body parts, Medicaid fraud, botched abortions and more.
