Lankford, Marshall, Murphy Want to Keep PPP Tax Dollars from Abortion Providers

WASHINGTON, DC –Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Roger Marshall, MD (R-KS) and Congressman Greg Murphy, MD (NC-03) to introduce the Abortion Providers Loan Elimination (APLE) Act, which requires Planned Parenthood affiliates to return the $80 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans they illegally applied for and received. It would also ensure Planned Parenthood affiliates and other abortion providers remain ineligible for future PPP funding and instruct the Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General to investigate how this national organization was able to receive funds from the program.

“The Paycheck Protection Program was created to help some of the hardest-hit small business and nonprofits impacted by COVID,” said Lankford. “Using taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortion providers is an irresponsible use of hard-earned tax dollars. Especially during a health pandemic, we should ensure federal financial relief is used to sustain businesses, support families, and protect life, not take it.” 

“The Paycheck Protection Program was created to provide struggling small businesses with much needed federal assistance at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Like most Americans, I was outraged to hear Planned Parenthood affiliates gamed the system and illegally obtained $80 million through the program,” said Marshall. “It’s clear to me that Americans don’t want their hard earned tax dollars to fund abortions, and to Planned Parenthood’s dismay, our bill claws back the money and investigates into how it ever was allowed to happen. As a physician who delivered thousands of babies in rural Kansas and now a US Senator, I consider my efforts to protect the sanctity of life my most important work, and I’m pleased my colleagues joined me in this fight.”

 “Abortion providers have absolutely no business receiving PPP loans. It is a scandal that Planned Parenthood received loans through PPP in the first place. The money they received could have gone toward saving your favorite local restaurant or mom and pop shop, but instead Planned Parenthood took this money and used it to kill the unborn. I’m proud to join Senator Marshall in a bicameral effort to right this wrong and explicitly outlaw Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving these loans ever again,” said Murphy.

Joining Lankford and Marshall to introduce the Senate bill are Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). 

Background:

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the federal government instituted the PPP, which was intended to aid small businesses. At the height of the pandemic, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a national organization with central control over its affiliates, over $2 billion in assets, and 16,000 employees applied for and received millions in PPP money.

In May of 2020, SBA notified 39 Planned Parenthood affiliates that they had wrongfully applied for PPP loans totaling more than $80 million. SBA determined that these affiliates were ineligible for the loans under the applicable affiliation rules, and that the loans they received should be returned. According to the most recently available data, seven affiliates did so, but the remaining 31 affiliates kept the received funding despite receiving notice that they have received such funds illegally. As of March 23, 2021,  three of the 31 Planned Parenthood affiliates again applied for and received second draw loans for a combined $4.8 million of additional funding.

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