toward greater accountability to taxpayers by providing more information on how their hard-earned dollars are spent." The NTU argued that "the DATA Act would bring increased transparency to a system that is too often rife with favoritism, waste, and fraud. As the federal government continues to make heavy demands on the public's paychecks, taxpayers deserve the opportunity to find out more details about how the money they send to Washington is being spent." American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 (H.R. 4438; 113th Congress) – a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to modify the calculation method and the rate for the tax credit for qualified research expenses that expired at the end of 2013 and would make that modified credit permanent. NTU "urged" Representatives to vote in favor of the bill because it "would simplify and make permanent the 20 percent tax credit for research and development expenses." The NTU argued that making this tax credit permanent was "an important step toward creating a healthier business climate, providing broad-based relief, and promoting economic growth." The NTU also argued that it was important for the credit to become permanent because major research and development investments often take multiple years to do and it can be difficult to plan them when a tax credit is only going to last for one or two years. Activities Balanced Budget Amendment – NTU has been a proponent for a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution. Government Spending Transparency – The National Taxpayers Union has been a proponent of the "Google Government" movement. More specifically, the organization calls for the creation of searchable Internet databases that provide information on state government grant and contract expenditures. NTU is a founding sponsor of www.ShowMeTheSpending.org, a website dedicated to online government spending transparency. NTU Rates Congress – NTU rates U.S. Representatives and Senators on their congressional votes. NTU Rates Congress includes "every vote that significantly affects taxes, spending, debt, and regulatory burdens on consumers and taxpayers." NTU then assigns weights to the votes, reflecting the importance of each vote's effect on federal spending, when calculating each officials score. A grade of "A" indicates the organization views the member as a strong supporter of responsible tax and spending policies. The organization gives these members of Congress the "Taxpayers' Friend Award." Research – NTU writes policy papers on many subjects they view as important to taxpayers. The