(RNN) – The White House threatened to veto a Republican bill that would keep student loan rates from doubling, saying it cuts into funds intended to support health services for women.
The $5.9 billion legislation, expected to pass Friday in the House, would benefit more than 7 million people by providing subsidies for federal student loans that currently have a 3.4 percent interest rate.
However, the money would deplete funds set aside for cancer screenings, immunization for children and other health prevention measures that are part of President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare reform.
Democrats called it a weak attempt at resolving the problem and have indicated they were poised for a fight on the issue.
"It's like they've rubbed two stones together, and they're playing with fire," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA. "They ought not to do it. This prevention saves lives, saves money and there are certainly plenty of other places to go in the budget."
However, Republicans defended their proposal and said hedging by the White House is holding up progress.
Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, said Obama's desperation to wage a fight with Republicans is "getting in the way" of helping millions of current and future students.
If legislation is not passed by the June 30 deadline, people with outstanding student loans could pay an additional $1,000 per year, Obama said.
Obama attacked Republican efforts to resolve nearly $1 trillion in student loan debts and called Congress to task in a two-day series of speeches at college campuses earlier this week.
His veto threat comes as little surprise, given the tone of his words after visiting the University of North Carolina on Tuesday.
"As you think about voting, make sure you know where your state representative and your state senator stand as to funding higher education," Obama said.
The president further commented that he and his wife Michelle had finished paying off their student loans just eight years ago.
The presumptive Republican candidate president, Mitt Romney, said in a campaign speech in Pennsylvania early this week that he supported the efforts to keep the interest rate for Stafford loans at its current level.
"I encourage Congress to temporarily extend the current low rate on subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans. I also hope the President and Congress can pass the extension responsibly, that offsets its cost in a way that doesn't harm the job prospects of young Americans," Romney said.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also chimed in on the battle.
"We have to make college accessible to the middle class, and to have these interest rates double makes no sense whatsoever," Duncan said.
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, said funding for women's health services should not be cut to accommodate subsidized federal student loans. (Source: CNN)
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