The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on April 7 agreed to audit Planned Parenthood's use of federal funding, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Background
GAO previously audited Planned Parenthood in 2010 and 2013 following congressional requests to do so.
The agency's 2015 report found that Planned Parenthood and five comparable organizations used $482 million in federal funds between 2010 and 2012. Of those funds, $236 million were allocated from HHS and the U.S. Agency for International Development. GAO did not find any irregularities in the course of their audit, and the report did not make any recommendations.
Latest audit
According to the Times-Picayune, the latest audit announcement follows a request from conservative lawmakers in Congress. In a letter in March, more than 120 conservative lawmakers asked GAO to audit all of Planned Parenthood's federal funding between 2013 and 2015, as well as to report on the number of patients and volume of services provided at the organization's federally qualified health centers.
GAO said it would launch the audit in seven months, at which time it would have appropriately qualified staff members available. The agency also said it would collaborate with the Inspector General's office to avoid unnecessary overlap (Rainey, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 4/18).


