Question: What is a Discharge Petition?

Answer: A petition that if signed by a majority of the House, 218 members, requires a bill to come out of a committee and be moved to the floor of the House.

Question: What is a co-sponsor?

Answer: A Member who adds his or her name in formal support of a bill. A bill that has many cosponsors will often be brought to the floor by the Speaker of the House.

Question: Why are we asking Members to sign the discharge petition for the SAVE Act (H.R. 408, aren't 160 cosponsors enough to bring the bill to the floor?

Answer: In the House, the Speaker is responsible for referring a bill to the appropriate committee(s) and moving the bill along through the legislative process, eventually to the floor for a vote. A bill can be killed by the failure of the Speaker of the House or of the committee(s) to act on a bill. This is what is happening with the SAVE Act.

Despite having 160 cosponsors, the SAVE Act is being buried in the committee process. Therefore, the only way to bring the SAVE Act to the floor is through the discharge petition.

Project Vote Smart http://www.votesmart.org/resource_govt101_02.php describes how a bill becomes a law in the House of Representatives (including the role that cosponsorships and discharge petitions play):

1) A Member introduces a piece of legislation and give it to the clerk of the House.

2) The bill is assigned a number (e.g., H.R. 408

3) Other Members of the House may signal their support for the bill by cosponsoring the legislation.

4) The Speaker of the House (if he or she chooses) assigns the bill to the appropriate committee(s).

5) The committee(s) and/or subcommittee(s) may hold hearings and/or "mark ups" to make revisions to the bill, then vote on the bill.

6) The bill is then "reported" back to the House floor, where it is placed on the calendar for a vote.

***If the Speaker of the House or committees fail to act on a bill, the bill can be brought to the floor through a "discharge petition." If 218 Members of the House sign a discharge petition on a bill, it must be moved directly to the floor of the House***

7) The House debates the bill (limited by the rules formulated by the Rules Committee) and has a final vote.

http://www.numbersusa.com/news?ID=10291