Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar
Floor Speech
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Mr. PAUL. This would allow illegal funding of Planned Parenthood affiliates through the Paycheck Protection Program.
Let's be very clear. Planned Parenthood is not a small business; Planned Parenthood is a big business. This is not my allegation; this is a ruling from the Small Business Administration. The Small Business Administration ruled in May of 2020 that Planned Parenthood was a big business, not a small business, and ineligible for the PPP program. The program was intended for small businesses. The current ruling from the Small Business Administration is, they are ineligible because they are a big business.
This program was intended to support small businesses across the country that were forced to lock down during COVID-19. However, the Small Business Administration, despite having previously ruled that they were ineligible, that they were a big business, has now unlawfully approved nearly $100 million in taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood. On June 30 alone, the Small Business Administration approved four new loans to Planned Parenthood despite a clear determination by the Small Business Administration that these entities are ineligible. So we have a great contradiction here. They say they are ineligible. That is the existing rule from the Small Business Administration. Yet they are still giving them money.
This nomination is for the position of Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration, which is responsible for the Agency's day-to-day operations and involved in all policy decisions, including the PPP program.
The Biden administration has continued to obstruct congressional oversight of the illegal Planned Parenthood loans, and the nominee has refused to provide to the committee a commitment that he would take action to recover the funds that are being disbursed illegally.
The Republican members of the Small Business Committee have continued to make it clear that we will not allow a vote on this nominee to occur until the Small Business Administration takes action to recover the illegally disbursed funds to the big business known as Planned Parenthood.
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