A bill to counteract drastic increases in college tuition has been proposed to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., has proposed a bill that would consider cutting federal funding to universities if they increased tuition and fees unreasonably for three years in a row by more than double the Consumer Price Index, a number most often used to indicate inflation rates.

According to the College Board, since 1981, college tuition has risen 100 percent above the Consumer Price Index while the median family income has only risen 27 percent.

While Iowa State has increased tuition and fees by 51.6 percent since the 2001-02 school year to help compensate for state reductions, McKeon’s bill is not meant for universities experiencing economic hardships such as Iowa State.

“We are seeing a lot of excessive spending on college campuses,” said Vartan Djihanian, McKeon’s press secretary.

“The main point is to make colleges more affordable and accessible for students.”

McKeon’s bill addresses universities such as those featured in a New York Times article on Oct. 5 describing the “one-up” battle between universities to lure in students, Djihanian said.

For example, the University of Houston recently spent $53 million on a wellness center complete with hot tubs, waterfalls, leisure pools and a five-story climbing wall. Washington State University houses the “largest Jacuzzi on the West Coast,” which can hold 53 people.

In most cases, these perks are paid for through student fees which will continue for decades.

“It is spending like that the congressman is worried about,” Djihanian said.

If trends continue, the cost factor will force more than 2 million students to miss out on the chance to attend college, Djihanian said.

A university is exempt from the legislation if its tuition is in the lowest quarter of universities of its kind or if the tuition increase is less than $500 for resident undergraduates, even if the increase exceeds twice the inflation rate.

Still in its early stages, it is unclear when the bill will be voted upon by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Even if it is passed this year, sanctions would not begin on university funding until 2011.

Under the bill, the beginning of the three year evaluation period will begin with the 2005-06 academic year.

In 2008, universities not following this law will have to itemize their cost factors for two years and construct an action plan to reduce tuition increases. If the universities continue to fail after two years, the university would be susceptible to cuts in federal financial aid programs.

Federal funding cuts would exclude direct funding to students including Pell Grants, Stafford and Direct Loans.

Both parents and students have warmly welcomed the bill, Djihanian said.

“The truth is that many students can simply no longer afford tuition prices, so anything that addresses tuition is a positive thing,” he said.

With recent trends and having to support three of his children through college, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said he is aware tuition issues need to be brought to the forefront.

“There should be ways to know which schools are working hard to control costs,” he said.

“We have to look at every possible way to keep down those costs.”

While any cost increase affects students, Iowa public universities have continued to be a value, Latham said.

“While increases hurt everyone, [Iowa] is still a tremendous bargain as far as an education is concerned,” he said.

Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, was unavailable for comment.