Every six years or so, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the opportunity for Congress--and the nation--to examine the current conditions and consider the future needs of higher education. While reauthorization tends to focus on funding and on "fixing" postsecondary education's most visible problems, the national conversation on reauthorization is also the best opportunity available for the federal government to define its leadership and policy roles in higher education. Limited as these roles are and should be, they can be extremely important in bringing fundamental, long-term change to higher education. This article asserts educators, civic leaders, and state and federal policymakers need to develop a working consensus on appropriate higher education expenditures as the basis for agreement on necessary investments. It is divided into the following sections: Expanding Successful Postsecondary Participation; Toward More Useful Accountability; Costs, Productivity, and Cost-Effectiveness; and Federal, State, and Institutional Roles.