GOP Lawmakers Question if Planned Parenthood Illegally Got $20 Million in COVID-19 Relief Funds

U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) addresses a town hall meeting in McAlester, Okla., on Feb. 13, 2023. Michael Clements/The Epoch Times

Two members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation are leading a group of Republican lawmakers demanding that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (IG) investigate how Planned Parenthood got $20 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.

“It has come to our attention that Planned Parenthood and its affiliates were provided with over $20 million from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). We request that you review the PRF applications submitted by Planned Parenthood and its affiliates to determine whether the organization provided false or misleading information to obtain access to PRF funds,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) told HHS IG Christi Grimm in a July 31 letter. Also signing the letter were 35 GOP senators and members of the House of Representatives.

The PRF program to aid health care providers was included under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act approved by Congress and signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic that has killed more than 1 million Americans since January of that year. Many U.S. experts believe the virus originated from China’s Wuhan Institute for Virology.

“Congress intentionally designed the CARES Act so that no federal funding appropriated through the bill could be used on abortion. As the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), you have the authority to conduct audits and investigations into allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse for HHS-administered programs and funding opportunities,” the letter continued.

“Planned Parenthood and its affiliates’ efforts are centered around abortion. Despite the Pandemic and lockdown policies, in its 2020-2021 annual report, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates performed 383,460 abortions. This was an increase from the previous year, a time when Planned Parenthood performed 354,871 abortions,” the letter said.

“Planned Parenthood also provided fewer health services during the pandemic. Breast screenings fell by more than 30 percent, gynecological exams decreased by 39 percent, and total pregnancy tests decreased by 14 percent,” the letter continued.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) speaks during a rally for the anniversary of Dobbs at the Senate Swamp in Washington, on June 20, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Unlike other health care providers that suffered significant financial losses during the Pandemic, the signers pointed to Planned Parenthood’s tax records as evidence the nation’s largest abortion provider was not so affected.

“While most health care providers were financially strained by the pandemic, Planned Parenthood’s financial records show that the organization was not significantly impacted. In its 2020-2021 Annual Report, Planned Parenthood boasted $1.7 billion in revenue and possessed more than $2.5 billion in net assets. Even during the height of the pandemic, Planned Parenthood was able to maintain positive cash flow when many small businesses and actual health care providers were forced to close their doors to patients,” the letter writers told Ms. Grimm.

A Planned Parenthood spokesman did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Chief among the multiple federal laws and regulations like that in the PRF that bar the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions is the Hyde Amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and became law in 1976.

Planned Parenthood says on its web site that since its enactment, the Hyde Amendment “blocked federal Medicaid funding for abortion services (since 1994, there have been three extremely narrow exceptions: when continuing the pregnancy will endanger the patient’s life, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest). This means Medicaid cannot cover abortion even when a patient’s health is at risk and their doctor recommends they get an abortion.”

Planned Parenthood also claims the Hyde Amendment “affects all of Planned Parenthood’s 2.4 million patients, but it directly hurts the 60 percent of Planned Parenthood patients who rely on public health programs like Medicaid for preventive and primary care. The Hyde Amendment blocks those patients from using their public health benefits for abortion care.”