Boebert and Laubacher split on $70B data center tax break and Medicaid rules

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and Democratic candidate Eileen Laubacher disagree on whether to keep a $70 billion tax break for data center builders, part of the tax policy debate in Colorado's 4th Congressional District race. Laubacher said she would eliminate that benefit for companies constructing data centers, while Boebert said all tax reductions in the law should be made permanent.

The district runs from eastern Colorado plains to Douglas County and Loveland. Boebert, 39, of Windsor, has represented the district since 2024 after moving from the 3rd District in 2023. Laubacher, 58, of Highlands Ranch, served 34 years in the U.S. Navy as an intelligence officer and National Security Council member, retiring in 2024 at rear admiral rank. Libertarian Douglas Mageris also appears on the ballot.

On Medicaid work requirements in H.R. 1, Laubacher said she generally supports them but called the paperwork excessive and said some people will lose benefits while trying to comply. "I think it's designed that way for the government to save money, even if temporarily," she said. Boebert backed the requirements and noted exemptions exist for single mothers and people with disabilities.

Laubacher said rural hospitals face strain from Medicaid changes and insurance payment practices, and that some hospital managers expect no hospitals left on eastern plains within five years if conditions do not change. She called the $50 billion Rural Health Care Transformation Program fundamentally flawed. Boebert said rural hospitals do not need more funding from the law and blamed Medicaid cuts by Colorado Democrats for hospital strain, while supporting the program. Colorado received $200 million in the program's first year.

Both candidates said the U.S. should not stop using carbon-emitting energy sources. Laubacher said battery storage technology has not advanced enough to rely fully on solar and wind, proposing grid modernization and efficiency gains. Boebert said the market should decide energy sources and called electric vehicles a failure. On oil and gas royalties, Laubacher called for periodic reviews of company payments; Boebert said current fees fund local schools and fire stations.

Laubacher said the U.S. lacks sufficient legal immigration pathways and supports a route to permanent residency for working people who pay taxes, excluding those convicted of violent crimes. Boebert said the country has generous pathways and that people in the country illegally must leave. Laubacher would end U.S. military aid to Israel while selling arms case by case; Boebert called for a temporary pause on aid to all countries. Both said aid to Ukraine should continue.

Boebert is seeking approval for the Arkansas Valley Conduit water project that President Donald Trump vetoed last year, including it in a broader water measure the House passed in September. The bill awaits Senate action, where Sen. Michael Bennet is working on it. Laubacher said she would push for the project too. "It's important that it be done," she said.