Washington — The National Governors Association is asking Congress to remove language from a pending bill that would withhold certain federal funds from states that cut their higher-education budgets.

In a letter sent this week to leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, the association says the provision represents an “unprecedented overreach of federal authority that is unworkable for state budgets.”

The provision, which was included in the House’s version of legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, introduced last month, would bar state governments from cutting their budgets below the previous year’s level or the average for the previous five years. States that failed to meet that “maintenance of effort” requirement would be denied federal funds for a pair of programs aimed at increasing college access for low-income students.

The governors association says the mandate would penalize low-income students who benefited from the federal programs and would discourage states from increasing higher-education spending in times of surplus. —Kelly Field