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Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Representative Josh Brecheen (R-OK) led their colleagues in the Senate and House in a letter to Inspector General (IG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Christi Grimm regarding more than $20 million in Provider Relief Funds (PRF) issued to Planned Parenthood under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Members ask the IG to review the funds to “determine whether the organization provided false or misleading information to obtain access to PRF funds.”

The Members wrote in their letter, “Congress intentionally designed the CARES Act so that no federal funding appropriated through the bill could be used on abortion… This organization did not possess a financial need for funds distributed through the PRF, nor should taxpayer dollars be given toward the provision of abortions. We request that you review the applications submitted by Planned Parenthood to determine whether the organization provided false or misleading information to obtain access to PRF funds. If it is discovered that Planned Parenthood intentionally falsified information on its applications, we ask that you submit a criminal or civil referral to the US Department of Justice.”

The following Senators joined Lankford, Brecheen, and their House colleagues in sending the letter: Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), JD Vance (R-OH), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Lankford remains a strong voice standing up for life in the US Senate and has consistently pushed back against Americans’ dollars going to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. During the pandemic, Lankford joined Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Republican members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) to demand information from Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were illegally obtained and received by Planned Parenthood affiliates across the United States.

Lankford recently introduced a bicameral bill to clarify that HHS cannot discriminate against Title X grantees, including states, for their stance on protecting life. On the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Lankford spoke on the Senate floor to ask the simple question: when does life begin? Lankford also wrote an opinion piece for National Review to encourage pro-life Americans to keep up the work to make abortion not just illegal, but unthinkable.

You can read the full letter HERE