The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA 1997) is the largest single increase in federal funding for higher education since the GI Bill. This chapter explores the impact of this new federal law on state higher education policy and offers options and recommendations for state response. These recommendations are based on the belief that programs which support both access and affordability are necessary to advance the larger national policy of college opportunity, but that affordability should not be allowed to supersede access as a policy goal.