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NTU’s 15th Annual “No Brainers” List: 2025's Top 10 Bipartisan Bills for Taxpayers

October 28, 2025

National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is happy to present its 15th annual “No Brainers” list of legislative reforms that can unite lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Each bill would be a benefit for taxpayers and must meet three key criteria:

1) It has support from both Democrats and Republicans
2) It has not appeared on a previous NTU “No Brainers” list
3) It is a sensible way to address a real problem that taxpayers face.

Each bill below shows that there can be wide agreement on effective solutions to various issues when partisan politics are set aside.

Here are the ten “no-brainer” bills of our 15th annual list in no specific order.

The Tax Court Improvement Act

  • Bill Number: H.R. 5349
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) and Terri Sewell (D-AL)
  • It’s a No-Brainer: This legislation facilitates a quicker resolution of disputes or settlements by permitting the court to issue third-party subpoenas prior to hearings and pre-trial conferences, with the goal of encouraging settlements. This change would work to the benefit of taxpayers, whose legal resources are far more limited than the government’s. The legislation will also allow the Tax Court to waive deadlines in appropriate cases, just as any other court in America can. The Tax Court is a crucial forum for taxpayers, for it is the only way a taxpayer can have an independent authority resolve a tax dispute without first having to pay all outstanding amounts, using expedited and less formal procedures.
  • Status: Passed out of the Ways and Means Committee, and awaiting action by the House.

Trade Review Act

  • Bill Numbers: H.R. 2665, S.1272
  • Lead Sponsors/Cosponsors: Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) in the House; Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and four other original cosponsors.
  • It’s a No-Brainer: Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress authority over import duties and international commerce. The Trade Review Act would limit the duration of tariffs unilaterally imposed by the executive branch to 60 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval to extend them. Unilateral tariffs imposed by the executive branch this year are estimated to cost Americans $330 billion. This bill would prevent similar tax increases in the future unless they are approved by Congress.
  • Status: Awaiting action by the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee.

American Franchise Act

  • Bill Number: H.R.5267
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK), Don Davis (D-NC), and 12 additional bipartisan cosponsors.
  • It’s a No-Brainer: This legislation provides clarity and stability for one of the nation’s most important engines of small business growth and job creation. By codifying a clear joint employer standard, this bill protects franchise owners from costly legal uncertainty, excessive regulatory burdens, and the unpredictable swings caused by partisan changes in NLRB policy. This allows franchisees to operate with confidence and make independent decisions about hiring and operations. Protecting the franchise model not only supports small business entrepreneurs but also safeguards the millions of employees who rely on locally-run businesses for stable employment, making this legislation a commonsense, bipartisan step to preserve Main Street and foster economic growth.
  • Status: Awaiting action by the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Stop Secret Spending Act

  • Bill Numbers: H.R 2069, S. 872
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Barry Moore (R-AL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), and Harriet Hageman (R-WY) in the House; Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Gary Peters (D-MI), James Lankford (R-OK), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Ashley Moody (R-FL) in the Senate.
  • It’s a No Brainer: This bill would bring more transparency to a type of federal contract known as “other transaction agreements.” Recently, it has come to light that over $40 billion in federal spending is not subject to the same disclosure and transparency requirements that are placed on most federal spending on USAspending.gov. This bill seeks to ensure that taxpayers can understand more about where their hard earned money is being spent by the federal government by listing and disclosing these contracts on USAspending.gov.
  • Status: Passed out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and awaiting floor action.

Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act

  • Bill Numbers: H.R. 580
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Pete Sessions (R-TX).
  • It’s a No Brainer: This legislation would improve reporting of unfunded mandates by extending reporting requirements to fifteen independent agencies that were excluded from the original law. These include powerful regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. UMITA would also allow a point of order to be raised against consideration of legislation with private-sector mandates above a certain threshold. Exclusion of this was an oversight in the original law.
  • Status: Passed the Committee on Government and Government and Reform, awaiting House action.

Sustainable Budget Act

  • Bill Number: H.R. 222
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Ed Case (D-HI), Steve Womack (R-AR), Scott Peters (D-CA), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
  • It’s a No Brainer: This bill would create a fiscal commission aimed at proposing recommendations designed to improve our long-term fiscal outlook. A commission modeled off the Sustainable Budget Act should seek to learn lessons from the failures of the 2011 “super committee” tasked with achieving debt and deficit reduction. As our nation approaches annual deficits of $2 trillion, it is imperative that lawmakers address the threat of our unsustainable national debt.
  • Status: Awaiting action in the House Budget Committee

National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act

  • Bill Number: H.R. 997, S. 1704.
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Danny Davis (D-IL) in the House; Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in the Senate.
  • It’s a No Brainer: This legislation would allow the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) to appoint her own counsel, enhancing the independence of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate and improving the NTA’s ability to provide sound, sensible, and non-partisan recommendations on tax administration policy. The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate was created to assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS, identify areas where taxpayers have problems dealing with the IRS, provide recommendations on changes to administrative practices to mitigate problems, as well as recommend legislative changes that might be necessary. NTU has supported allowing the NTA to hire her own counsel for years, since former NTA Nina Olson first included the recommendation in the annual “Purple Book.”
  • Status: Passed the House (385-0), and is awaiting action by the Senate Finance Committee.

Transparency in Contract Pricing Act

  • Bill Number: S. 2809.
  • Lead Sponsors: Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
  • It’s a no brainer: This legislation would discourage overcharging in defense contracting, particularly in the purchase of spare parts and maintenance services. The measure is designed to bring greater accountability and visibility into how contract prices shift over time, ensuring that both the military and taxpayers are protected from unfair cost inflation. It expands oversight by requiring contractors to notify the Department of War if a contract increases by more than 25%, or more than 50% compared to prices paid by the government over the past five years. The Act is especially focused on contracts awarded without competitive bidding, where the risks of overpricing are greatest.
  • Status: Awaiting action by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Claiming Age Clarity Act

  • Bill Number: H.R. 5284, S. 1504.
  • Lead Sponsors: Reps. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Aaron Bean (R-FL), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) in the House; Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Senate.
  • It’s a No Brainer: The Claiming Age Clarity Act is bipartisan legislation that aims to simplify the terminology used by the Social Security Administration to help seniors better understand how their claiming age affects their retirement benefits. Also supported by AARP and Bipartisan Policy Center Action, it would make the language used in official communications more straightforward, encouraging seniors to delay claiming when possible to receive a permanently higher monthly benefit.
  • Status: Passed the Ways and Means Committee, awaiting House action / awaiting action by the Senate Finance Committee

No Unreasonable Payments, Coding, Or Diagnoses for the Elderly Act (NO UPCODE Act)

  • Bill Number: S. 1105.

  • Lead Sponsors: Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

  • It’s a No Brainer: This legislation would pragmatically address longstanding “upcoding” issues within Medicare Advantage, the practice where plans might record more severe diagnoses (or additional diagnoses) so as to secure higher payments—even when patient health status may not fully justify such codes. Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office indicate that this approach to reforming upcoding could save $124 billion over the next decade, as opposed to more aggressive upcoding reforms that could save over $1 trillion. By reducing the practice of overcharging Medicare, this bill will help promote integrity of this government program to ensure it remains on sound financial footing. 

  • Status: Awaiting action by the Senate Finance Committee.