By Jeff Mason and Kanishka Singh
WILKES BARRE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday she will cut college degree requirements for certain federal jobs if elected president as the Democratic presidential candidate and her Republican rival have been making economic pledges to woo voters.
Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are in a tight race for the Nov. 5 U.S. elections. Harris has previously said she will aim to pass a middle class tax cut, while Trump has advocated for cutting taxes on overtime pay. Both candidates have supported eliminating taxes on tips.
"As president, I will get rid of the unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs to increase jobs for folks without a four-year degree," Harris said in her speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
More than 62% of Americans age 25 or older did not hold a bachelor's degree, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in early 2023. Americans without college degrees made up three out of five voters in 2020.
The Democratic presidential candidate said on Friday the U.S. should recognize the value of paths to success beyond a college degree, like apprenticeships and technical programs.
A degree does not necessarily indicate a person's skills, Harris said. She added: "And I will challenge the private sector to do the same."
A survey by Gallup and Lumina Foundation released earlier this year found that many Americans are skeptical about the value and cost of college. Over half of U.S. adults who have never been enrolled or once were enrolled said the cost of education was a "very important" reason for them to not sign up or return to college.
INTERRUPTION FROM PROTESTERS
Harris' speech faced some interruption from protesters opposing U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Demonstrators in the U.S. have for months demanded an end to the war and restrictions on shipments of weapons to Israel.
Harris reiterated her support for a ceasefire and hostage rescue deal. "Now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire," Harris said when interrupted. "I respect your voice, but right now, I am speaking," she added.
Harris has pledged support for Israel. Observers have said that if pro-Palestinian Americans including activists as well as Muslims and Arabs, who overwhelmingly voted for the Democrats in the last presidential election, withhold their vote, it may hurt Harris' chances. While those groups are unlikely to tilt toward Trump, some activists have pledged support to third party candidates.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered last Oct. 7 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Wilkes Barre; writing by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Michael Perry)
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