Women's healthcare and abortion service provider Planned Parenthood and its affiliates came under heavy criticism in the US Congress after a House report showed their officials spent millions of dollars in recent years on parties and travels, contribution to political causes and efforts, and "lucrative" salaries for its employees, Fox News said.
The criticism was leveled by House Republicans who grilled Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards during a hearing on Tuesday, which was held amid congressional investigations into a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood workers discussing foetal tissue harvesting.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, claimed that the organisation has been utilising a big chunk of its budget on non-health care expenses that covers among others, exorbitant travels and blowout parties, and largely ignored the issue that generated the hearing, which was the group's involvement in providing aborted foetal tissue to researchers.
"It's a political organisation and that's something that needs to be ferreted out," Chaffetz said of the organisation that benefits from hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, mostly through Medicaid and family planning reimbursements for providing health services to low-income women.
"If they're going to pay those people that much money and pay for first-class travel and have all of these exorbitant parties, and send money overseas, then they don't need funding from the American taxpayers," the congressman added.
According to the House report, Planned Parenthood spent over $5.1 million on travel in 2013, or nearly $14,000 a day based on tax returns. On top of this, several affiliates reported spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on travel.
The report also said that the group had booked mostly first class or charter travels in the past years. Richards, however, denied that she travel first class.
In 2013 and 2014, the organisation also reportedly spent $622,706 on "blowout parties." The group's affiliates likewise spent on events ranging from a so-called "Gathering of Goddesses and Gods" to "Murder Mystery" fundraisers.
Over the last five years, the Planned Parenthood reportedly gave nearly $22 million in grants to its Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is legally able to do lobbying activity. Campaign finance records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, show donations from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Inc. PAC, in turn, go almost exclusively to Democratic candidates, said the report.
More than 40 executives were also said to have earned salaries of $200,000 or more between 2009 and 2013. Richards told the House Republicans that her annual compensation was $520.000, the report said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, blasted Chaffetz for his line of questioning, saying he was beating up a woman—for making a good salary.''
