U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has co-sponsored legislation that would force Planned Parenthood affiliates to return a combined $80 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans.
The bill, the Abortion Providers Loan Elimination (APLE) Act, has 62 House co-sponsors and 25 Senate co-sponsors, all Republicans. The APLE Act would also make Planned Parenthood affiliates ineligible for future PPP loans and spur an investigation from the Small Business Administration Inspector General as to how the affiliates received PPP funding.
The PPP is a federal program passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2020 which dispersed billions of low-interest loans to small businesses that were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In May 2020, the SBA demanded 39 Planned Parenthood affiliates return their PPP loans. Seven affiliates did so, but 31 did not, according to federal data.
Planned Parenthood operates numerous reproductive health clinics in the U.S. While abortion services have made the organization a target of conservative and other anti-abortion rights groups, Planned Parenthood also offers other reproductive health services and sexually transmitted disease treatment and testing.
Huizenga has previously introduced legislation to make sure Planned Parenthood does not receive federal funding, and in May 2020, called for an investigation into Planned Parenthood affiliates receiving PPP loans.
“Taxpayer dollars designed to help small businesses keep the lights on and keep paychecks flowing to employees during a pandemic should not be used to extinguish the lives of innocent children,” said Huizenga, R-Zeeland. “Planned Parenthood should not have been eligible to receive funding through the Paycheck Protection Program in the first place.
"The Abortion Providers Loan Elimination Act takes corrective action by recouping the funding illegally obtained and blocking abortion providers from receiving taxpayer funding through the Paycheck Protection Program. Additionally, this measure requires an investigation into how Planned Parenthood was able to access funding in the first place despite being ineligible to do so.”
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