The veto threat came as GOP leaders began pushing the legislation toward passage Friday in the House. The warning escalated the election-year clash over a measure that has evolved from a dispute over helping millions of students into a broader proxy battle between the two parties over how to best help families cope with the weak job market and ailing economy.

The GOP bill would repeal a preventive care program created under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law of 2010. Picking up on a theme that House Democrats have been sounding this week, the White House said that "women in particular" benefit from the program — a message that reflects the Democratic effort to woo women voters by accusing Republicans of waging a war on them.

"This is a politically motivated proposal and not the serious response that the problem facing America's college students deserves," said the White House message. It said Obama's advisers would urge him to veto the bill.