Hearings on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that were held in both Notre Dame, Indiana, and Washington, D.C., in 1985 are presented. Title IV of the Act, which authorizes student financial aid programs, is the focus. The Pell Grant program is aimed at the lower-income student, and the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program leverages private capital through federal guarantees. The campus-based programs and the State Student Incentive Grant program, which encourages states to set up their own grant programs, have provided aid to needy students and to middle income students who were ineligible for basic grants. During the reauthorization process, one of the major issues is who should be provided student aid. Discussion centered on whether or not eligibility should be restricted on the basis of income. A concern is whether to ration the available aid to first-time students, or whether to provide aid to older students who are returning for continuing education and career development. Subsidies to students receiving aid through the GSL program and loan repayment are additional issues, as are rationing student aid on the basis of cost of education, and the priorities of access to college versus choice. Other programs under the act include international education, cooperative education, institutional aid, and TRIO programs. (SW)