1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Discharge Petitions and the House Discharge Rule Christopher M. Davis Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process May 24, 2018 Recent media reports have discussed an effort by some Representatives to use a discharge pe
2、tition to schedule a floor vote on a resolution (a “special rule”) providing for House consideration of immigration legislation under a Queen-of-the-Hill amendment structure. This Insight discusses the principal features of the House discharge rule and links to additional reading material on the sub
3、ject. The House discharge rule, clause 2 of Rule XV, establishes a parliamentary mechanism whereby 218 Members of the House of Representativesa majority of the chambercan bring a bill or resolution to the floor for consideration even if the measure has not been reported by committee or is not suppor
4、ted by the majority party leadership. A precursor to the present discharge rule was adopted in the months following the 1910 House revolt against Speaker Joseph Cannon and was intended to provide a check on the scheduling power of the Speaker and the Committee on Rules. The essential form of the pre