Washington — When public-college officials are asked to account for tuition increases, they often point the finger at state appropriators. Dwindling state support, they say, forces colleges to raise tuition to fill the gap.

It appears Congress is listening. At a hearing today on college costs, Rep. George Miller, a Democrat of California, said his committee was considering adding language to the Higher Education Act that would penalize states that cut spending on higher education. The bill is expected to be released in the next few days.

“We just came up with $20-billion for higher education,” Mr. Miller said, referring to budget-reconciliation legislation signed into law in September, “and we can see that if we continue this pattern [of state spending cuts] that advantage will be nullified … We keep shoveling coal on top, and they keep taking it off the bottom.”

Asked what he had in mind, Mr. Miller shrugged. “It’s a concept some members have discussed that I believe is worth exploring,” he said in an interview.

If Democrats do incorporate the idea into their bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, they are likely to borrow from legislation introduced in June by Rep. John F. Tierney, a Democrat of Massachusetts. The bill, HR 2690, would direct the secretary of education to withhold administrative funds from states that reduce their higher-education budgets.

But colleges are not likely to be off the hook entirely. Both Mr. Tierney’s bill and reauthorizing legislation already passed by the Senate include provisions that would hold colleges accountable for rising tuitions, and one member of Congress said that lawmakers were growing weary of colleges’ excuses.

“I’m not saying we’re so frustrated that we’re about to implement price controls,” said Rep. Ric Keller, a Republican of Florida. “But I am saying that the skyrocketing cost of tuition is starting to piss people off around here.” —Kelly Field