A discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee by "discharging" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution. Here are some key points about discharge petitions in the United States Congress:

• A discharge petition can be filed by any member of the House of Representatives after a bill has been introduced and referred to committee for 30 legislative days or more.

• The petition must be signed by a majority of the House (218 voting members, not delegates) in order to be successful.

• Once a discharge petition reaches 218 members, the petition is placed on the discharge calendar. If the committee has not acted within seven days after the petition is placed on the calendar, any member can call up the discharge motion which, if approved by the House, leads the way for a motion to bring up the bill itself.

• Discharge petitions are most often associated with the U.S. House of Representatives, though many state legislatures in the United States have similar procedures.

• Discharge petitions are used when the chair of a committee refuses to place a bill or resolution on the committees agenda: by never reporting a bill, the matter will never leave the committee, and the full House will not be able to consider it.

• The discharge petition, and the threat of one, gives more power to individual members of the House and removes a small amount of power from the leadership and committee chairs.

• Successful discharge petitions are rare, as the signatures of an absolute majority of House members are required. Between 1931 and 2003, 563 discharge petitions were filed, of which only 47 obtained the required majority of signatures. The House voted for discharge 26 times and passed 19 of the measures, but only two have become law.