Here is a recent quote:

Approximately 32 million adults in the United States can’t read, according to the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 50 percent of U.S. adults can’t read a book written at an eighth-grade level.

This means they cannot read a newspaper or fill out an application to work.

For the politically minded, it means they cannot read government regulations about how to apply for any kind of assistance without someone helping them.