Since the enactment of the Adult Education Act (AEA) in the 1960s, the Federal Government has played a major role in leadership and policy direction for literacy education for adults. Federal programs and policies established under the Adult Education Act have influenced who provides services, who receives them, the instructional components of services, and how services are funded. Eligibility for literacy education under the AEA is limited only by the requirement that recipients must be at least 16 years old. The Adult Education Act program has three components: Adult Basic Education; English as a Second Language, the fastest-growing component; and Adult Secondary Education. Most AEA funds go to the states and are allocated to local programs using at least three basic criteria: past effectiveness, coordination with other community services, and commitment to serve the most educationally disadvantaged. Three major federal program initiatives, begun in the late 1980s, have had a tremendous impact on literacy policy: the National Workplace Literacy Grant program, the Even Start Family Literacy program, and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. In the 1990s, federal policy has been expanded to include efforts aimed at program improvement. The expanded federal role in this decade will focus on four areas: research, technical assistance, coordination, and accountability. (KC)