WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 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.