Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has released a statement regarding reports that thirty-seven Planned Parenthood affiliates applied for and improperly received $80 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Commenting on the issue, Senator Rubio argued that “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.”
Moreover, Senator Rubio added that “those funds must be returned immediately,” adding that “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.”
Currently, the Small Business Administration is reaching out to the Planned Parenthood affiliates, notifying that affiliates of larger organizations that have more than 500 employees are not eligible for PPP loans.
Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) also echoed in Rubio's remarks, voicing his disappointment with the money that was dispersed.
On Twitter, Senator Scott commented that "this money should be returned immediately."
Yet another example of the #PPP program being misused. Florida’s taxpayers should not be footing to bail out a huge organization like Planned Parenthood.
This money should be returned immediately.https://t.co/nt6zuKtUEf
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 20, 2020
