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Harris announces lowering of graduation requirements for some federal jobs

Jeff Mason and Kanishka Singh
| Reuters

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WILKES BARRE, Pennsylvania – Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that if elected as the Democratic presidential nominee, she will lower college degree requirements for certain public service jobs, while her Republican rival is wooing veterans with economic policy promises.

Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump are neck and neck in the US election on November 5. Harris has already announced that she will seek a tax cut for the middle class, while Trump is advocating for a reduction in taxes on overtime pay. Both candidates support the abolition of taxes on tips.

“As president, I will eliminate unnecessary college degree requirements for public service jobs to increase the number of jobs for people without a four-year college degree,” Harris said Friday in her speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

More than 62% of Americans age 25 or older did not have a bachelor's degree, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in early 2023. Americans without a college degree made up three in five voters in 2020.

More: Trump's and Harris' very different visions for the economy

The Democratic presidential candidate said Friday that the United States should recognize the value of paths to success that go beyond a college degree, such as vocational training or technical programs.

A degree does not necessarily indicate a person's abilities, Harris said. She added: “And I will call on the private sector to do the same.”

A poll released earlier this year by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that many Americans are skeptical about the value and cost of college. More than half of U.S. adults who have never or ever enrolled in college said the cost of college was a “very important” reason for them not to enroll in or re-enroll in college.

More: Is college worth it? The answer from half of Americans is astonishing.

Harris tells Gaza protesters: “I speak”

Harris' speech was partially interrupted by protesters opposing US support for Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

For months, demonstrators have been demanding an end to the war and a restriction on arms deliveries to Israel.

Harris reiterated her support for a ceasefire and hostage release. “Now is the time to negotiate a hostage and ceasefire agreement,” Harris said when she was interrupted. “I respect your voice, but right now I'm speaking,” she added.

Harris has pledged support for Israel. Observers have said Harris' chances could be hurt if pro-Palestinian Americans, including activists as well as Muslims and Arabs who voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in the last presidential election, hold back. While those groups are unlikely to lean toward Trump, some activists have pledged support for third-party candidates.

More: These Democrats are challenging state lawmakers who rejected the 2020 election results

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7 last year, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources.

Israel's subsequent assault on the Hamas-ruled enclave killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, and displaced almost the entire population of 2.3 million. It led to famine and genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice, which Israel denies.

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