Washington — President Bush may come out against the bill (HR 4137) to renew the Higher Education Act that the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to debate tomorrow, according to Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, the top Republican on the House education committee.

Mr. McKeon said today that administration officials were particularly upset about provisions in the bill that would end the Department of Education’s authority over the agency responsible for reviewing the performance of college accreditors.

Education Department officials did not immediately respond to an e-mail message seeking more information about the administration’s stance on the bill.

In a conversation with reporters this morning about the House legislation, Mr. McKeon also said he expected House members to retain a controversial provision in the legislation (despite some members’ desire to remove it) that is vehemently opposed by the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The proposal would deny federal matching funds to states that cut their higher-education budgets. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Republican of Utah, is expected to offer an amendment tomorrow to try to strike that “state maintenance of effort” language from the bill.

The amendment is one of 61 that have been proposed for consideration during tomorrow’s debate on the bill, which would reauthorize, or renew, most higher-education programs for five years. —Sara Hebel