	Introduction

		Function of the Discharge Rule

The "discharge rule" of the House of Representatives (Rule XV, clause 2), provides a means by which a majority of Members may bring to the floor for consideration a measure that has not been reported from committee. During these years, the House adopted only 26 discharge motions. No further changes occurred until the 1990s, when the House:
eliminated a provision that had the effect of preventing debate on, or amendment of, a special rule reaching the floor through discharge (1991); provided that the names of Members signing discharge petitions be publicly available (1993); and made the procedure inapplicable to any special rule that would have the effect of permitting non-germane amendments, or that would provide for the consideration of more than one measure (1997). Data Presented

The data presented herein on use of the discharge procedure are of three kinds:
(1) overall figures on use of the discharge procedure in each Congress, 1931-2002 (72 nd -107 th Congresses);
(2) the number of signatures received by each discharge petition, 1993-2002 (103 rd -107 th Congresses); and
(3) a summary of any action beyond the committee stage that occurred on measures on which discharge petitions were filed, 1967-2002 (90 th -107 th Congresses). If the petition is filed on a special rule for considering the measure, however, then even if the committee reports the measure, it remains in order to discharge the Committee on Rules from the special rule. During this period, the Committee on Rules recurrently declined to respond to committee and leadership requests to report special rules for considering measures reported by committees. This form of discharge attempt has become uncommon in recent years, but it was used in the 107 th Congress after the House rejected a proposed special rule for considering a campaign finance reform bill, and the leadership declined to make another attempt to call it up. A second grouping of 36 petitions was signed by fewer Members than the strength of the minority party, but more than half this number (usually, by more than 100). Thirteen, by contrast, received between 30 and 60 signatures. On average throughout the entire period, fewer than 10% of petitions have been entered. Eight of these received floor consideration (6% of the 138 unreported measures on which petitions were filed). Among measures that were subjected to discharge attempts and reached the floor, the proportions that did so under procedures other than discharge itself were
50% when the petitions were filed directly on unreported measures, 80% when they were filed on special rules for unreported measures, and 100% when they were was filed on special rules for reported measures. These figures indicate that measures became increasingly likely to reach the floor under alternative procedures, rather than pursuant to the discharge rule itself, the more directly the form of the discharge effort represented a challenge to the normal control of the floor agenda by the leadership and the Committee on Rules. Of the 12 measures on which a petition was entered, nevertheless, the House passed only six. All six of the rejected measures were constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds vote for passage. Correspondingly, of the 16 measures considered under other procedures, whether or not the petitions were entered, three (all of them constitutional amendments) were defeated. The House passed the other 13, none of which was a constitutional amendment. Number of Signatures

 Table 8 notes which petitions obtained the full 218 signatures required before a motion to discharge may be offered on the House floor.
The discharge rule of the House of Representatives affords a way for Members to bring to the floor a measure not reported from committee. It may also be used to bring to the floor a special rule for consideration of a measure, either reported or unreported, if the Committee on Rules declines to do so. Before a motion to discharge may be made, 218 Members must sign a petition for that purpose.
Since the present form of discharge rule was adopted in 1931, 563 discharge petitions have been filed, of which 47 obtained the required signatures. The House voted for discharge 26 times, and passed 19 of the measures involved, but only two became law (and two others changed House Rules). Discharge attempts, however, may also lead indirectly to legislative success. The House considered 10 of the measures on which petitions were completed, under other procedures, and eight of these became law. It also took up, under other procedures, 32 measures on which petitions were still pending. Of these, all but three passed the House, and 17 received final approval. Overall, either the petition was completed, or the measure received floor action by some means, in about 16% of discharge attempts.
During the past 35 years (1967-2002), discharge petitions on 12 measures obtained the required signatures. The House voted for discharge six times, and considered the other six measures under other procedures. Six of the 12 measures were rejected, all of them proposed constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds majority for passage. The House adopted one amendment to the discharge rule itself, one proposed constitutional amendment (which failed in the Senate), and four measures that became law. During this period, it also used other procedures (such as a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules) to consider 10 additional measures on which discharge was attempted, of which six became law.
Increasingly often in recent years, the Committee on Rules has responded to discharge efforts by reporting its own special rules for considering the measures involved. It often does so even when the petition is not completed, especially for petitions filed on special rules, rather than on the measures themselves. Since 1967, measures on which this form of petition was filed have had over twice as much chance of reaching the floor, especially under alternative procedures, as when the petition was filed on the measure itself. Perhaps as a result, this form of discharge has become more popular, amounting to almost 70% of petitions filed during the past decade (1993-2002).
Only since the 103rd Congress has the number of Members signing each discharge petition been public information. During that period, four petitions were signed by more Members than the number belonging to the minority party. Thirty-six were signed by fewer than this number of Members, but more than 90. Thirteen were signed by 30-60 Members, eight by 7-30, and nine by three or fewer.