CHAPTER 18 Discharging Matters From Committees § 1. In General; Motion to Discharge § 2. Discharging Particular Committees § 3. Calling Up Motion; Debate § 4. Consideration of Discharged Measures § 5. Discharge of Vetoed Bills, Other Questions Privi- leged Under the Constitution, Resolutions of In- quiry, and Reorganization Plans Appendix-Recent History of Discharge Motions INDEX TO PRECEDENTS Business preceding introduction of Committees, discharge of discharge motions § 3.8 Committee on Agriculture, § 2.1 Calling up motion to discharge Committee on Banking and Currency, after seven legislative days, § 3.1 § 2.2 by signatory, § 3.6 Committee on the Judiciary, § 2.3 during the last six days of a session, Committee on Rules, §§ 2.4±2.6 § 3.3 on second and fourth Mondays, § 3.2 Committee on Ways and Means, § 2.7 Committee of the Whole, consider- Debate on discharged bills, § 4.5 ation of discharged measure in, Discharge rule, 21-day rule distin- §§ 4.4, 4.5 guished from, § 1.12 Committee on Rules, consideration Discharged bills of resolutions discharged from, motion to consider, § 4.3 §§ 4.1, 4.2 referral of, § 4.7 Committees, consideration of bills and resolutions discharged from, Discharged resolutions § 4.3 consideration of, § 4.1 3205 VerDate 18-JUN-99 08:59 Aug 05, 1999 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 8876 Sfmt 8876 E:\RENEE\52093C18.TXT txed02 PsN: txed02 Ch. 18 DESCHLER'S PRECEDENTS Discharged resolutionsÐCont. motions to table, § 4.2 Motion to discharge resolutions dis- Extensions of remarks approving reorganization plans during consideration of discharge mo- debate on, §§ 5.6, 5.7 tions, § 3.16 offering of, § 5.5 Motion to consider discharged bills, unanimous-consent agreement to. § 5.8 § 4.3 Motion to discharge resolutions of Motion to discharge committee inquiry, privilege of, §§ 5.2, 5.3 adoption of, §§ 2.1±2.4, 2.7 Motion to discharge vetoed bills, announcing filing of, § 1.1 privilege of, § 5.1 application of, to reported bills, § 1.11 Motion to postpone consideration of effect of inter-session adjournment on, discharge motions, § 3.14 § 1.10 Motion to table discharge motions, intervening motions during debate on, § 3.15 §§ 3.14, 3.15 Motion to table discharged resolu- names on petition, revealing, § 1.7 tions, § 4.2 placement of, on calendar, § 1.9 Reorganization plans precedence of, over unfinished busi- debate incident to discharge of, §§ 5.6, ness, § 3.4 5.7 quorum call preceding call of, § 3.7 rejection of, § 2.5 discharge of, by unanimous consent, § 5.8 report, committee, as affecting disposi- tion of motion, § 1.13 moving the discharge of, § 5.5 report, committee, question as to valid- Resolutions of inquiry ity of § 1.13 debate on, following discharge, § 5.4 signatures on, §§ 1.2±1.6 discharge of, §§ 5.2, 5.3 withdrawal of, after filing, § 1.8 Vetoed bills, discharge of, § 5.1 Commentary and editing by John Graham, J.D. 3206 VerDate 18-JUN-99 08:59 Aug 05, 1999 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 8876 Sfmt 8876 E:\RENEE\52093C18.TXT txed02 PsN: txed02 Discharging Matters From Committees § 1. In General; Motion to gates may not sign a discharge pe- Discharge tition. The signatures on the mo- tion may not be made public until The House, by rule, has made the requisite number of Members provisions for discharging matters have signed it.(4) The death or res- from committees. Under Rule ignation of a signatory of the mo- XXVII clause 4,(1) a Member may tion does not invalidate his signa- file with the Clerk a motion to ture,(5) but for a Member elected discharge a committee from the in a special election to fill a va- consideration of a public bill or cancy to sign a petition, the signa- resolution referred to it 30 legisla- ture of his predecessor must be re- tive days prior thereto. The rule moved.(6) may also be invoked to discharge a resolution pending in the Com- When the requisite number of mittee on Rules for more than signatures are obtained, the mo- seven legislative days providing tion is entered on the Journal, for consideration of a measure fa- printed with the signatures there- vorably reported by a standing to in the Congressional Record, committee or pending before such and referred to the Calendar of committee for 30 legislative Motions to Discharge Commit- days.(2) tees.(7) A reported bill is no longer The primary purpose of the dis- susceptible to the motion, though charge petition is to extract from reported in the interval between a committee, for House action, completed signing of the petition legislation opposed by a majority and the calling up of the motion.(8) of the committee members or where a committee fails to act. placed in the discharge rule in the The motion must be in writing 69th Congress. Prior to that time, and signed by a majority of the fewer signatures had been required Members, and this has been inter- on a discharge petition. For the his- preted to mean that the motion tory of the rule, see 7 Cannon's requires the signatures of 218 Precedents § 1007. Members of the House.(3) Dele- 4. See § 1.7, infra. 5. See § l.5, infra. 1. House Rules and Manual § 908 6. See § 1.4, infra. (1979). 7. See § 1.9, infra. 2. See §§ 2.4, 2.5, infra. 8. See § 1.13, infra. 3. See §§ 1.2, 1.3, infra. The require- A motion to discharge a committee ment of ``a majority of Members'' was from further consideration of a bill 3207 VerDate 18-JUN-99 08:59 Aug 05, 1999 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 E:\RENEE\52093C18.TXT txed02 PsN: txed02 Ch. 18 § 1 DESCHLER'S PRECEDENTS See Chapter 21 (Order of Busi- tures of 218 Members of the ness; Special Orders), § 16, for dis- House. cussion on discharge by the Com- On Apr. 15, 1936,(10) the Speak- mittee on Rules. er (11) responded to a parliamen- f tary inquiry of Mr. Gerald J. Boileau, of Wisconsin, relative to Announcement of Filing of Mo- the number of signatures nec- tion essary to effectuate a petition under the discharge rule of the § 1.1 A Member sometimes an- House: nounces to the House the fil- . [T]he Chair is constrained to ing, pursuant to Rule XXVII hold that under the ``discharge rule'' of clause 4, of a motion to dis- the House, requiring ``a majority of the charge a committee. total membership of the House'', the exact number of 218 Members was in- (9) On June 17, 1952, Mr. Paul tended, and is necessary before a dis- W. Shafer, of Michigan, an- charge petition is effective, and no less nounced to the House his filing number will suffice, irrespective of with the Clerk of a motion to dis- temporary vacancies due to death, res- charge the Committee on the Ju- ignation, or other causes. diciary from further consideration § 1.3 The motion to discharge a of a resolution proposing the im- pay raise bill was signed by peachment of the President. the required number of Mem- bers. Signatures on Motion On June 3, 1960,(12) the fol- § 1.2 A motion to discharge a lowing proceedings occurred: committee from the further MR. [JOHN W.] MCCORMACK [of Mas- consideration of a bill was sachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, a parliamen- held to require the signa- tary inquiry. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: (13) The or resolution operates, when agreed gentleman will state it. to, upon the bill or resolution as MR. MCCORMACK: My inquiry is originally referred to the committee whether or not the discharge petition rather than as it may have been amended in the committee before the 10. 80 CONG. REC. 5509, 5510, 74th committee acted upon it adversely. Cong. 2d Sess. 75 CONG. REC. 4705, 72d Cong. 1st 11. Joseph W. Byrns (Tenn.). Sess., Feb. 25, 1932. 12. 106 CONG. REC. 11837, 86th Cong. 9. 98 CONG. REC. 7424, 82d Cong. 2d 2d Sess. Sess. 13. Francis E. Walter (Pa.). 3208 VerDate 18-JUN-99 08:59 Aug 05, 1999 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 E:\RENEE\52093C18.TXT txed02 PsN: txed02 DISCHARGING MATTERS FROM COMMITTEES Ch. 18 § 1 on the pay raise bill has received the valid. The following colloquy then required number of signatures, to wit, took place: 219. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Accord- MR. MCLEAN: I understand that one ing to the Journal clerk the 219 signa- of the signers was that of the late Rep- tures have been obtained. resentative Brumm, of Pennsylvania, who died a few days ago. There is a Parliamentarian's Note: In the question as to the effectiveness of his 86th Congress, the total member- signature, and the question of the ef- ship of the House was 436 due to fectiveness of his signature is proper the election for the first time of a for consideration at this time. Representative from the newly ad- THE SPEAKER: Under the rule no sig- mitted State of Alaska. nature can be withdrawn except by the Member himself. § 1.4 The death of a Member MR. MCLEAN: Does the Chair rule who had signed a discharge that the signature of Mr. Brumm must stand? petition does not invalidate THE SPEAKER: The signature can the signature, and such sig- only be removed by the Member, by nature stands as the legisla- Mr. Brumm himself, as a Representa- tive act of such deceased tive of the Thirteenth District of Penn- Member unless withdrawn sylvania. When his successor is elect- by his successor.