Topeka ? The nearly four-year effort to re-authorize the federal Higher Education Act is inching toward completion, but a key component of the bill has a lot of Kansas leaders nervous.

The National Governors Association this week sent a letter to key congressional leaders urging them to delete a provision that would remove federal funding for universities where the state cut funding. The rationale is there’s no reason for the federal government to be pouring money into a pot only to have the state government draining it out the bottom.

“(The provision) will make it more difficult for governors to make major increases – or invest one-time surpluses – into higher education. Ultimately, this will lead to lower state contributions to higher education in the long run,” the governors, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, wrote.

The governors also are upset with the precedent this law would set.

It “would be an inappropriate new federal mandate that would federally dictate about 11 percent of total state spending,” they wrote.

Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway said the rationale behind the federal effort likely stems from the colleges and universities telling Congress that cuts in state appropriations are limiting their progress.

“It’s quite relevant for Congress to be cognizant of state funding,” Hemenway said. “For example, KU and K-State used to have 50 percent of their budget funded by the state. Now it’s down to 23 percent.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that Hemenway necessarily supports the legislation. It could cause a lot of unintended consequences, he said.

“I think the governor has made good points,” he said. “And I think it’s important that states all across the nation are raising concerns.”

Christine Downey-Schmidt, chairwoman of the Kansas Board of Regents, said the re-authorization of the legislation has drawn attention in waves in the higher ed circles.

“The concern behind these proposals (declining state funding) is certainly one that piques our interest,” she said. But at the same time, “we want to maintain as a state our autonomy in making decisions.”

Downey-Schmidt said the concerns of parents and students that tuition has risen too quickly – something the regents discussed at length last month – likely also played a role in the issue being raised at the federal level.

Both chambers of Congress have passed their own re-authorization of the Higher Education Act. What remains to be seen is whether this provision is agreed to by both houses or whether it is eliminated as a joint version of the bill is prepared.

The Higher Education Act, which contains a variety of measures that govern funding and regulating higher education, has been extended several times. The most recent extension expires April 30.