Selected issues to be considered by the 96th Congress regarding the Higher Education Act reauthorization are examined. Recently funded at approximately $5 billion, the programs of this legislation serve over 3 million students through financial assistance and nearly the full range of traditional higher education institutions and many proprietary vocational/technical schools. The primary focus of the Higher Education Act is student assistance, which accounts for some 94 percent of the funds appropriated for the Act. Focus in this report is on four student aid-related issues: consolidation, coordination and simplification of the aid programs; the financing of higher education through loans; impact on students' access to higher education and choice among institutions; and the extent of fraud, abuse and waste in these programs. Institutional aid-related issues are discussed briefly with attention paid to such topics as the need for construction support and the Federal support of traditionally black institutions. (Author/LBH)