The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the American Graduation Initiative emphasize Pell grant funding and focusing on community colleges and sub-baccalaureate degrees. As a result, the administration's postsecondary strategy shifts postsecondary resources to the least advantaged students and the two-year and less selective four-year institutions. This shift is part of a longer-term policy trend toward a reliance on postsecondary education as the primary element in domestic employment and social policy. As we proceed beyond the stimulus, the postsecondary emphasis needs to be leavened with more attention to employment policy and social policy goals, both for adults and working students. (Contains 3 figures and 8 notes.)