Project 2025 agenda will harm Idaho families

By Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise 
Reader Contributor

Our nation was founded on the enduring principles of freedom, personal liberty and the opportunity to leave a better life for our children. However, the proposals within Project 2025 threaten these ideals and the future of our state. Driven by the conservative Heritage Foundation and Republican operatives, this radical plan threatens to dismantle the progress we’ve made and undermine our economy, education, health care and fundamental freedoms. 

Rep. Lauren Necochea. File photo.

One of the most alarming aspects of Project 2025 is its economic policies that call for massive tax breaks for the richest Americans and corporations while slashing resources for our communities. According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 1% would see an average tax cut of $100,000 annually, while middle-income families could see their taxes rise by as much as $1,200. The proposal could lead to a $3.5 billion decrease in federal revenue over the next decade. This loss would likely result in severe cuts to programs we trust, like Social Security and Medicare. 

Our children’s education is also at risk. Project 2025 proposes diverting public funds to private and religious schools through voucher schemes, which would drain resources from public schools that serve the majority of Idaho children. Rural districts, already struggling with limited resources, would be particularly affected. Additionally, the elimination of preschool supports, including Head Start, would result in nearly 3,000 children losing access to this critical early learning in Idaho. 

The health care provisions within Project 2025 are equally alarming. The rollback of health care protections would allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The plan includes substantial cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Currently, more than 200,000 children, people with disabilities, seniors and individuals facing low wages rely on Idaho Medicaid for health care. Slashing Medicaid funding could result in approximately 30,000 Idahoans losing coverage. Repealing the ACA with no replacement could leave more than 100,000 Idahoans without health coverage, increasing the strain on emergency rooms and driving up costs for everyone.

Reproductive freedoms are also under threat. Project 2025 calls for severe restrictions on access to contraception, in vitro fertilization and abortion care. In Idaho, where women are undergoing medical evacuations across state lines for emergency pregnancy complications, a nationwide abortion ban would have dire consequences. 

Project 2025 and the politicians who support this extreme vision represent a profound threat to the core ideals our nation was built upon. As Idahoans, we must stand against this extreme agenda and choose a future where the economy grows from the middle out and the bottom up, where every child can get a strong start, where we can all afford health care and where we protect freedoms rather than take them away.

Rep. Lauren Necochea is the House assistant Democratic leader, representing District 19 in Boise on the Environment, Energy and Technology; Resources and Conservation; Revenue and Taxation; and Ways and Means committees.