Congress has passed a bill that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Now five years overdue, the new act created many programs and requirements for colleges and universities. Given all the time and effort that went into it, do aspects of the final legislation fall short? What key measures have been left out? In this article, six policy experts describe some of the act's lost opportunities. Sandy Baum, professor of economics at Skidmore College and senior policy analyst at the College Board, observes that Congress has chosen to punish states--and needy students in those states--for failing to maintain appropriations. A far more desirable solution would be to provide revenue-sharing funds during economic downturns that strain state budgets, or to use another mechanism like providing incentives for states to maintain trust funds to allow smoothing of cyclical spending patterns. If institutions had steadier patterns of state support, they would be less pressured to increase spending in flush years and to institute quality-threatening cutbacks and rapid price increases in lean years, like those just ahead.