Last year, conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, announced a “Project 2025” policy plan for a potential second term of former president Donald Trump. If the policy plan becomes a reality, disabled people could lose vital services.
The plan includes “Draconian” cuts to Medicaid, according to Edwin Park, a Research Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families. For example, Project 2025 would cap federal Medicaid spending. It would also impose time limits and lifetime caps on coverage.
SSI and SSDI benefits could also be cut or eliminated. Without these benefits, many people would lose their sole income, including me. Without SSI, I’d have no way to pay my bills. Disabled people are already disproportionately affected by poverty, and the loss or reduction of these benefits would be devastating.
Another issue with Project 2025 is the emphasis on decreasing federal rules and regulations. Some of these legislation ensure that disabled individuals have access to public spaces, workplaces, and transportation. If these rules and regulations are decreased or eliminated, it may become more difficult for disabled individuals to find employment, attend school, and participate in community activities.
Project 2025 also encourages harsher immigration laws, which could have an indirect impact on disabled people. Many healthcare workers are immigrants. A recent Health Affairs study found that the percentage of foreign-born CNAs increased from 13.6% in the 2000s to 19.1% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be attributed to a decrease in American-born employees.
The percentage varied significantly by state, ranging from less than 1% in West Virginia to more than 70% in Hawaii. Furthermore, long-term care facilities in locations with a larger percentage of CNAs who are immigrants provided superior patient care, more direct care staff hours per resident, and improved overall nursing home quality performance.
Project 2025 could make it more difficult for these employees to enter or stay in the country. Therefore, the already dire shortage of healthcare workers could become even worse.
Funding for public education would also be impacted by Project 2025. Of the policy agenda’s 900 pages, 44 are devoted to the United States Department of Education. The plan proposes restructuring federal governance for K-12 schools, including eliminating Title I grants for low-income schools.
The impact of Project 2025 could be devastating for disabled Americans. The potential consequences of Project 2025 could cost disabled Americans their freedom or their lives. Life for millions of Americans could change forever.
Sources:
Feingold, Lainey. “Project 2025 and the Threat to Disabled People.” The Law Office of Lainey Feingold, The Law Office of Lainey Feingold, 9 July 2024, http://www.lflegal.com/2024/07/project-2025/.
Fessler, Pam. “Why Disability and Poverty Still Go Hand in Hand 25 Years After Landmark Law.” NPR, NPR, 23 July 2015, http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/07/23/424990474/why-disability-and-poverty-still-go-hand-in-hand-25-years-after-landmark-law.
Jun, Hankyung, and David C. Grabowski. ‘Nursing Home Staffing: Share Of Immigrant Certified Nursing Assistants Grew As US-Born Staff Numbers Fell, 2010–21’. Health Affairs, vol. 43, no. 1, Health Affairs, Jan. 2024, pp. 108–117, https://doi.org10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00881.
Mascaro, Lisa. “Conservative Groups Draw up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump’s Vision.” AP News, The Associated Press , 29 Aug. 2023, apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981.
Park, Edwin. “Project 2025 Blueprint Also Includes Draconian Cuts to Medicaid.” Center For Children and Families, Georgetown University , 25 June 2024, ccf.georgetown.edu/2024/06/17/project-2025-blueprint-also-includes-draconian-cuts-to-medicaid/.
Stanford, Libby. “Project 2025: What It Is and What It Means for K-12 If Trump Wins.” Education Week, Editorial Projects in Education, 8 July 2024, http://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/project-2025-what-it-is-and-what-it-means-for-k-12-if-trump-wins/2024/07.
Thank you for writing a very well documented article about Project 2025. I fear that many in the disability community don’t realize how directly their lives could be affected.
You’re welcome! Please let me know if you have any suggestions for future posts.