Rep. Jim Cooper introduced a "simple return" bill for the second time in April 2011. It was then referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it appears dead.

We checked with Cooper's office, and his spokeswoman told us "it looks unlikely that it"ll move anytime soon."

"While it's a common-sense bill and is supported by President (Barack) Obama and fiscal experts like Austan Goolsbee, it"s drawn opposition from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, from tax software companies and from CPAs," Cooper's spokeswoman Katie Hill wrote in an email.

Hill is right that many tax professionals have opposed such a measure, as have anti-tax crusaders, such as Grover Norquist, who fear that making the filing process easier could quell Americans' opposition to tax changes and increases.

The Obama campaign, when we asked about this Promise, didn't admit defeat but said the president continues to advocate for ways to simplify the tax code.

We also checked with G. Barry Wilkinson, a longtime tax attorney and CPA in St. Petersburg, Fla., about whether this promise had been fulfilled. No, he said: "That didn't happen."

If Congress acts on this measure, we will update our rating. But for now, with the bill to create a pre-filled-out form going nowhere, we rate this a Promise Broken.