The White House has threatened to veto a Republican bill keeping federal student loan rates from rising this summer.
A White House statement blamed the way the legislation would pay its $5.9 billion costs: by cutting a preventive health fund created under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law of 2010.
The White House called those health cuts politically motivated and not a serious response to the problems students face.
The veto threat was issued as the GOP-run House began debating the legislation.
Even if it passes as expected, the measure seems certain to go nowhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Democrats want to pay for the measure by boosting payroll taxes paid by high-earning owners of some private firms.
© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.