National Coalition for Literacy

—Will It Include an Education Requirement?

Last night, Tuesday, February 14, Congressional leaders reached a tentative agreement to extend the payroll tax cut, including jobless benefits and reimbursement for doctors who accept Medicare. As a part of the tentative deal, Hill and media sources are reporting that the education requirement is off the table. However, the deal is not final and although leaders are pushing to finalize the year-long extension by this Friday, anything is subject to change.

According to the New York Times, “Democrats, elated after winning the Republican tax concession after months of clashes, said they had also been able to beat back new conditions that Republicans had wanted on jobless pay, like requiring beneficiaries to seek high school equivalency degrees, and had found middle ground on Republican attempts to significantly reduce the number of weeks in which the unemployed could draw benefits.”

The situation looks promising for advocates who have been asking Congress to extend a fair unemployment insurance package, without education requirements and other strings attached.

The proposed education requirement, pushed by House Republicans, would deny unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to any worker who lacks a high school diploma or its equivalent and is not enrolled in classes to earn one—regardless of how long the person worked or whether he or she has access to adult education.

The National Coalition for Literacy believes that all eligible workers should receive UI regardless of their education level. While policies should recognize the importance of adult literacy and strive to increase access to adult education and family literacy programs, a GED requirement in a UI extension does not increase access; it only creates a much greater demand without providing the resources needed to meet the increased demand. For more information, see NCL’s Campaign for a Fair UI and sign up to receive the latest updates.