Trump administration says Planned Parenthood does not qualify for small business loans

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A senior US government official has said that clinics run by abortion provider Planned Parenthood will not qualify for a federal aid program being offered to small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. Part of the wider Cares Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is intended to support businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

The PPP provides small businesses with loans that are forgiven if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the funds are used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

A senior Whitehouse official told The Daily Signal Thursday that Planned Parenthood does not qualify for PPP small business loans because its individual clinics are part of a very large association: “While each Planned Parenthood affiliate has fewer than 500 employees, nationwide it has over 16,000 employees,” the official said.

“When applying PPP’s affiliation rules neutrally, it’s clear that Planned Parenthood is one large employer and not eligible for PPP money,” the official explained. “The interim final rule made crystal clear that an organization with Planned Parenthood’s corporate structure doesn’t qualify.”

Planned Parenthood is made up of some 159 medical and non-medical affiliates that manage more than 600 clinics in the US. According to their latest annual report, Planned Parenthood conducted 345,672 abortions during the 2018 fiscal year.

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