The Senate-sponsored legislation to increase the tax deduction for families hosting exchange students gained support yesterday from Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK). The bill, S. 2252, was introduced last October by Sens. Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Norm Coleman (R-MN). It is currently pending consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

The legislation would increase the current $50 per month deduction to $200 per month, and would index the deduction to inflation for future years.