AAU, AACC, and 21 other higher education associations and organizations sent a letter to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) expressing enthusiastic support for the Tax-Free Pell Grant Act. The legislation would eliminate the taxation of Pell Grants, eliminate the Pell Grant offset included in the American Opportunity Tax Credit formula, and expand the AOTC and the Lifetime Learning Credit to include essential student expenses such as dependent care and computers. The legislation, the letter notes, would help low- and moderate-income college students receive the full benefits of the Pell Grant program and the AOTC. “We urge all members of Congress concerned about helping less affluent and working students, as well as a substantial number of undergraduate students generally, to support this essential legislation,” the letter states.