This document contains testimony and prepared statements presented at a hearing held on the initiative of the U.S. Student Association as the kick-off for a series of student-led regional hearings on the Higher Education Act and particularly the financial implications that students and families from across the United States to be held across the nation during the Higher Education Act reauthorization process. The purpose of this campaign is to ensure that students' suggestions are heard before the bill is marked up. Among issues addressed were why the gains in equal access to education, seen between 1945 and 1980, have broken down in the last decade; and what should be done to strengthen the bill so that access may be protected and increased. Witnesses testifying before the joint committee and presenting prepared statements included students and officers representing various universities and colleges, as well as national student organizations. Also presenting their comments were the following: Frank Newman, President, Education Commission of the States; Tajel Shah, Vice President, U.S. Student Association; Americo W. Petrocelli, Commissioner of Education, Providence, Rhode Island; Brenda Dann-Messier, Director, Rhode Island Opportunity Center; and Seth Kurn, Executive Vice President, New England Institute of Technology. (GLR)