Senators press small business agency on Planned Parenthood’s ‘unlawful’ use of COVID funds

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Two Republican senators sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to demand answers about why the Planned Parenthood Federation of America received more than $100 million in COVID-19 relief funds, which the lawmakers allege was “unlawful.”

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who chairs the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to request documents and records related to Planned Parenthood’s receipt of funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

According to the letter, Planned Parenthood affiliates received about $120 million in PPP loans in 2020 and 2021.

Lawmakers have inquired about the funding for the past few years, though they reportedly did not receive the information from the previous administration. 

“The Biden administration obstructed our investigation of potentially illegal applications of PPP loans to Planned Parenthood entities, and we are confident the Trump administration will provide the transparency the American people deserve,” Paul said in a statement provided to CNA.

Ernst said in a statement to CNA that the PPP loans were “designed to help Americans struggling during the pandemic, not to go to ineligible recipients fueling abortion on demand.” 

“The Biden administration stonewalled my oversight efforts at every turn and prevented the American people from learning how Planned Parenthood cashed in on COVID,” she added. 

“Now that Administrator Loeffler has ushered in a new era of transparency at the SBA, I look forward to working with her to uncover the truth and stop the flow of these funds.”

The senators are requesting all records related to Planned Parenthood facilities requesting PPP funds, along with any communications with affiliates. They also asked for information about efforts to recover funds that were improperly given to Planned Parenthood and an explanation for why funding was approved. 

According to the letter, the SBA under the first Trump administration told Planned Parenthood affiliates that they had wrongfully applied for 38 PPP loans totaling $80 million and informed them they needed to return the money. 

However, in 2021 under the Biden administration, the SBA approved $40 million in additional funding and allowed at least 44 affiliates to have their loans forgiven. 

“Borrowers who made incorrect or false eligibility certifications on their PPP application are subject to severe penalties,” the senators’ letter states. 

The senators asked the SBA to investigate whether any Planned Parenthood affiliates “made a knowingly false certification on their applications” and to “pursue all appropriate penalties for any unlawful participation in the program.”

Katie Glenn Daniel, the director of legal affairs and policy council at Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, alleged in a statement provided to CNA that the Biden administration “illegally” gave Planned Parenthood forgivable loans for which they were not eligible, calling it “one of many lawless pro-abortion overreaches the Trump-Vance administration is now dismantling.” 

“We commend Sens. Ernst and Paul for demanding accountability, and we are optimistic that under this new administration of transparency and common sense, the American people will get the answers Biden refused to give, and hopefully, our money back,” Daniel said.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262679/senators-press-small-business-agency-on-planned-parenthood-s-unlawful-use-of-covid-funds