In the United States Congress, many rules and procedures govern each chamber and determine which legislative proposals can advance and which cannot. One such rule is the discharge rule in the House of Representatives. 

This mechanism gives minority members an opportunity to have their legislation considered without the Speaker of the House or committee members' cooperation, who determine the agenda for the sessions. 

How does a bill become law?

Language for a bill can be proposed by members of Congress, candidates, or citizen groups. A member introduces it in their chamber, where it is assigned to a committee for debate and possible amendment by either the Speaker of the House or the Senate Leader.

Whoever leads either chamber of Congress represents the majority party and have the power to determine what pieces of legislation are considered. If a bill is approved in committee, it moves to the floor for a vote and, if passed, is sent to the other chamber for a similar process.

Once both chambers approve the bill, it goes to the President, who can sign it into law or veto it. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both chambers.

What is a discharge petition?

Any member of the chamber can file a discharge petition with the Clerk on a bill that has remained in committee for at least 30 days. This allows the member to force floor consideration of the bill when the committee has failed to bring it up for consideration or a final vote. 

When a petition reaches 218 signatures, it becomes eligible for consideration on the House floor after 7 days. At this point, any member who signed the petition may notify the House of their intention to move to discharge the bill from committee. 

Then, the Speaker of the House has 2 days to file a time to consider the motion. The House debates the motion and decides whether to release the bill from committee. If the motion is adopted, the House must vote on the bill. 

Recently, two discharge petitions were filed regarding Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 

• A petition sponsored by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) forced the House to consider H. R. 1689 on the floor, which directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate TPS for Haiti through 2029. After gathering the necessary signatures, the House approved both the discharge motion and the bill, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
• Similarly, Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL-09) has filed a discharge petition for H.R. 3310, a bill that seeks to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuela for 18 months. 

In response to the executive branch's inaction, these proposals would provide relief to hundreds of thousands of people whose countries face insecurity and crises.