Twenty-seven Republican senators are asking Attorney General William Barr to investigate abortion provider Planned Parenthood and its affiliates for fraud in connection with $80 million it received in COVID-19 relief loans.
The senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Planned Parenthood and its affiliates were ineligible to receive the money under the Paycheck Protection Program due to the number of employees it has and its annual revenue.
Fox News reported that the program is limited to small businesses with less than 500 employees while the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has more than 600 alone.
The senators also cited a statement by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the organization's lobbying arm, which criticized the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, because it gave the Small Business Administration “broad discretion to exclude Planned Parenthood affiliates.”
The letter said that indicated that Planned Parenthood was aware it was not eligible for the funds.
"Based on these statements, it seems clear that Planned Parenthood knew that it was ineligible for the small business loans under the CARES Act long before its affiliates fraudulently self-certified that they were eligible,” the letter says. “As you know, fraudulent loan applications can trigger both civil and criminal penalties.”
The letter also comes after reports earlier this week that the SBA had begun contacting the Planned Parenthood affiliates who received money to ask that it be returned.
Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, Mitt Romney and Mike Lee of Utah also signed the letter.
A senator who did not sign the letter, Republican Josh Hawley of Missiouri, on Wednesday wrote to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza for an explanation as to how Planned Parenthood was approved for the loans and how the agency is trying to recover it.
He noted that Planned Parenthood does not qualify as a small business, having $2.3 billion in assets and nearly $2 billion in annual revenue.
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