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Disability Rights

Summary of Impacts

Project 2025 recommends reducing environmental regulations on business which will lead to higher emissions and environmental harm. It suggests withdrawing from international environmental agreements which will lead to the breakdown of global efforts to fight climate change. It aims to cut funding for research into climate change and renewable energy, weakening future technological innovation.

Key Quotes

“Remove the U.S. from any association with U.N. and other efforts to push sustainable-development schemes connected to food production”
(Bakst 325)

“Revisit the designation of PFAS chemicals as ‘hazardous substances'”
(Gunasekara Page 463)

“Make the design, development, and deployment of new nuclear warheads a top priority.”
(McNamee 430)

Impacts on Disability Rights

Project 2025 suggests several plans that could harm disabled people. One big idea is to cut back on government programs that provide daily support to many disabled individuals. For example, reducing money for Medicaid and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) could make it tougher for disabled people to get the medical care, assistive devices, and financial help they need. This could lead to worse health problems and more financial struggles for those who are already vulnerable.

Another issue with Project 2025 is its focus on reducing federal regulations. Some of these regulations help ensure that public spaces, workplaces, and transportation are accessible to disabled people. If these regulations are weakened, it might be more difficult for disabled individuals to move around, find jobs, go to school, and take part in community activities.

For instance, without strong accessibility rules, disabled people could face more obstacles when trying to enter buildings or use public transport.

Project 2025 also proposes stricter immigration policies, which could indirectly affect disabled individuals. Many caregivers and healthcare workers who help disabled people are immigrants. If it becomes harder for these workers to come to or stay in the country, there might be a shortage of skilled professionals to provide necessary care. This could lead to poorer care and increased isolation for disabled individuals who rely on these services to live their daily lives. Overall, the plans in Project 2025 could make life much harder for disabled people by reducing essential services, increasing barriers, and lowering their quality of life.

Quotes from the Mandate

Page numbers refer to the Mandate for Leadership PDF

“Congress (and DOL, in its enforcement discretion) should exempt small business, first-time, non-willful violators from fines issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.” (General Welfare, Dept. of Labor, Page 626)

OSHA already has a number of exemptions for small businesses and offers a free consultation program (in addition to other resources). Exempting small businesses from fines for first-time, non-willful OSHA violations can lead to dangerous workplaces. This policy might unfairly harm workers with disabilities and health issues who need strict safety rules to stay safe. By not holding these businesses accountable, we increase the risk of workplace accidents that could have serious consequences for workers already facing challenges in getting medical help or other support services.

“Re-implement work requirements [for SNAP]” (General Welfare, Dept. of Agriculture, Page 331)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, helps low-income people buy nutritious food. There are already work requirements to receive SNAP benefits, and research on their effectiveness is mixed. Project 2025 advocates for stricter work requirements and fewer opportunities for states to waive them. Requiring people to work more for food can harm those who are already struggling, especially if they live in poor areas with few job opportunities and lack access to childcare or transportation. Navigating complex government paperwork is hard enough by itself, but many SNAP recipients are also dealing with other hardships like mental health issues, lack of support services, stigma, and frequently changing requirements.

“Rescind the Equity in IDEA regulation. No replacement regulation is required.” (General Welfare, Dept. of Education, Page 368)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) aims to ensure equitable access to education for students with disabilities. The equity regulations they refer to aim to prevent disproportionate racial impacts that may interact with disability (suspension/expulsion rates in Individualized Education Programs, inappropriate identification for special education, etc.) If the equity requirements are removed, students of color who have disabilities will have difficulty accessing education. For a deep dive into the requirements, see this guide from the IDEA Data Center.

“Where admissible in regulatory action, HUD should implement reforms reducing the implicit anti-marriage bias in housing assistance programs, strengthen work and work-readiness requirements, implement maximum term limits for residents in PBRA and TBRA programs, and end Housing First policies so that the department prioritizes mental health and substance abuse issues before jumping to permanent interventions in homelessness.” (Section III, Chapter 15, Page 541)

The PBRA [Project Based Rental Assistance] provides low-income families with decent, safe, and affordable housing. As of 2024, 1.2 million families would potentially lose housing if term limits were enacted. The TBRA [Tenant-Based Rental Assistance] helps individual households, rather than subsidizing particular rental projects and renters would be in danger of losing housing. Housing First is a program that helps get homeless individuals off the streets and into clean, affordable housing. Ending Housing First would mean that anyone who would qualify for the program would remain on the streets.

“Eliminate or move Office of Postsecondary Education programs” (General Welfare, Dept. of Education, Page 359)

The Office of Postsecondary Education administers over 60 programs. While Project 2025 doesn’t list all the programs to be eliminated, it clarifies that institutional funding should only go to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribally controlled colleges. This would mean cutting programs aimed at helping veterans, people with disabilities, research & development, rural learners, and Hispanic-serving institutions.

“Phase out earmarks for a variety of special institutions” (General Welfare, Dept. of Education, Page 359)

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has programs supporting institutions serving people with hearing and vision loss (American Printing House for the Blind, Gallaudet University, Helen Keller National Center, and National Technical Institute for the Deaf). The policy proposed here would cut these programs.