Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Declaring Opposition
Purpose: Resolution Declaring Opposition to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 (formally known as the Presidential Transition Project)
Sponsor(s): Council Member, Luis A. Quintana
body
WHEREAS, Project 2025, formally known as the Presidential Transition Project, is a 920-page plan developed by a national consortium of highly conservative organizations led by the Heritage Foundation and former high-ranking officials of the Trump Administration to centralize power within the Executive Branch and undermine the system of checks and balances that is fundamental to American democracy; and
WHEREAS, the priorities of Project 2025 include sweeping “reforms” through which the functions of the FBI, the Department of Justice, the national security agencies, including the CIA, and the Department of Defense deployment procedures would be placed under the control of the President to carry out investigative and law enforcement actions claimed to be necessary for national security and protection of national sovereignty, for carrying out surveillance and detention of perceived political adversaries and targeted public advocacy organizations; controlling public demonstrations and suppressing targeted media organizations; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 includes plans to reclassify tens of thousands of federal civil service posts as political appointees and replace them with an already-recruited and trained corps of people who share the conservative values of a new administration and who will be totally devoted to carrying out its objective; and
WHEREAS, one of the key goals of Project 2025 is to eliminate federal funding and civil rights protections for public education and prioritize government payments to families sending their children to private schools including a new system of charter schools that are to be run like private businesses; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 will shrink the social safety net by significantly overhauling or eliminating critical programs meant to support people experiencing economic hardship and children living in poverty; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 promotes a highly conservative agenda that calls for the abolition of affirmative action initiatives, the abolition of reproductive health rights of women, the restriction of civil rights and voting rights, the termination of programs addressing climate change, the elimination of safeguards for LGBTQ+ people; the mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants, and the elimination of birthright citizenship to children of immigrant parents; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 seeks to limit the number of children who can qualify for free school meal programs and plans to end the Head Start program which offers free early childhood education, health and nutrition services to children from low-income families, which would eliminate services for the families of roughly 800,000 children, two-thirds of whom are Black or Hispanic; and
WHEREAS, critical federal programs meant to support people experiencing economic hardship and children living in poverty would be significantly overhauled or eliminated under Project 2025, including planned changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which will make it far more difficult for people to qualify for food stamps; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 would make major funding cuts to the Medicaid program, imposing lifetime caps on benefits, eliminating many existing Medicaid beneficiary protections, imposing restrictions on how states can finance their own share of Medicaid costs (which will ultimately require draconian cuts to eligibility, benefits and provider reimbursement rates), and imposing more red tape to make it much harder for eligible individuals and families to apply for Medicaid, all of which will drive tens of millions into the ranks of the uninsured and underinsured and severely reduce access to health care and long-term service and supports needed by low-income children, families, seniors, people with disabilities, and other adults; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 seeks to end “all time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness, which includes the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program which allows public employees such as teachers, firefighters, members of law enforcement and people who work for non-profit organizations to apply for loan forgiveness after they make 10 years of premium payments; and
WHEREAS, Project 2025 would convert the current Medicare program into a private sector insurance program; and
WHEREAS, the future for the citizens of Newark depends on what we do today, and we can build a society that values human rights and create a future where justice and equality are the guiding principles.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, THAT:
1. The City of Newark establish a working relationship with national organizations representing local governments, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the League of Cities, to develop a national strategy to address Project 2025 and its implications for every community in the United States.
2. The City of Newark collaborate with other stakeholders, including but not limited to local/municipal governments to develop strategies to effectively oppose Project 2025.
STATEMENT
Resolution declaring opposition to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 formally known as the Presidential Transition Project.