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The White House threatened a veto Friday of a Republican bill keeping the interest rates on federal student loans from doubling this summer, objecting that the measure would finance its $5.9 billion cost by abolishing a health care program.

The GOP bill would repeal a preventive care program created under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law of 2010. Republicans have called the prevention program a "slush fund," saying the money is not controlled tightly enough.

Even if the House bill passes as expected, it seems certain to go nowhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Senate Democrats have a bill of their own extending the lower interest rate and paid for by boosting payroll taxes paid by high-earning owners of some private firms. Republicans oppose it.

For House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the emphasis was the GOP's cuts in the preventive health program, whose initiatives she said include breast cancer screening and children's immunizations. She contrasted that with a Democratic bill extending the low student rates by cutting subsidies to oil and natural gas companies, which is opposed by the GOP.

Pelosi characterized the Republican view as, "'We prefer tax subsidies for big oil rather than the health of America's women.'"

Heritage Action for America, a conservative group, was lobbying Republicans to oppose the GOP bill and let interest rates rise, saying to do otherwise would burden taxpayers. Several conservative GOP lawmakers said Thursday they hadn't decided how to vote.

On the Democratic side, party leaders were pressuring their rank-and-file to oppose the Republican measure. Some Democrats were eager to vote to keep student loan rates low, though it meant accepting GOP health care cuts.

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Obama's own budget in February proposed cutting $4 billion from the same fund to pay for some of his priorities.

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A measure that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act was approved by the Senate Thursday with broad bipartisan support, despite some Republican objections to key provisions.

The battle over those differences now moves to the House, where Republicans are pushing an alternative version of the bill.

The Senate voted 68 to 31 to pass the bill following an attempt by Democrats in recent weeks to paint Republican objections as a new assault on issues important to women. By Thursday, Republicans were insisting they also wished for speedy passage of the bill, despite their concerns.

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objected to Cornyn’s proposal because some advocates believe requiring judges to impose harsh mandatory sentences on abusers can sometimes discourage victims from reporting their crimes.

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But other Republicans objected to a number of the measure’s new provisions. One would add language barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in programs funded through the measure.

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Another would let law enforcement issue up to 5,000 more visas each year to battered illegal immigrants who agree to participate in the prosecution of serious crimes. The 2000 update of the bill set aside 10,000 visas annually for that purpose, which advocates believe encourages victims to report crime. All 10,000 are being issued each year, and advocates say more are needed.

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A final area of contention would provide the government new authority to prosecute non-Indian men who abuse Indian women on tribal reservations.

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The matter of student loan interest rates was on the back burner until barely a week ago when the White House elevated it to the top of its agenda. Obama pounded away during visits to university campuses in North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado, pivotal states in the November election.

In fact, Republicans had invited a fight by failing to address the issue before Obama raised it. Their budget blueprint last month assumed the interest rate subsidy would expire.

Now that Mitt Romney has emerged as the likely GOP presidential nominee, congressional Republicans increasingly are taking their cues from him even if it causes heartburn and grumbling among conservatives unhappy about having to beat a tactical retreat.

That dynamic was on full display last week as House Speaker John Boehner coped with the dust-up generated by President Barack Obama over student loans and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell sidestepped Democratic attempts to brand Republicans as soft on the issue of violence against women.

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