Discharge Petition

A discharge petition is a parliamentary tool in the U.S. House of Representatives used to bypass the standard committee process. Under House Rule XV, clause 2, any bill that has been referred to a committee for 30 legislative days without action can be made the subject of a discharge motion. If a majority of the House — currently 218 members — sign the petition, the bill is "discharged" from the committee and brought directly to the floor for consideration.

The mechanism exists to check the gatekeeping power of committee chairs and the majority leadership, who control which legislation receives hearings, markups, and floor time. Because signing a discharge petition is widely seen as a rebuke of one's own party leadership, successful petitions are rare. Since the modern rule was adopted in 1931, only a small number of discharge petitions have resulted in enacted laws — notable examples include the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938), the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (where the threat of discharge helped pressure the Rules Committee), and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

Key features:

• Signatures are public. Since 1993, the names of signers have been disclosed in real time on the Clerk of the House's website, increasing political pressure on members.
• Only the House uses it. The Senate has no equivalent; senators rely on unanimous consent, cloture, or motions to proceed.
• Targets bills or rules. A discharge petition can also be filed against a special rule sitting in the Rules Committee for at least 7 legislative days.
• Limited debate. Once discharged, the bill is considered under structured procedures, typically with 20 minutes of debate before a vote.

In recent Congresses, discharge petitions have been used as messaging tools more than as serious legislative vehicles, though occasional cross-partisan coalitions — such as the 2015 effort on the Export-Import Bank — have demonstrated the procedure's continued viability.