Evening star., 1936-07-09
DISCHARGE RULE
FIGHT IS PLANNED
Effort to LiberaIize House
Procedure Is Led by
BoiIeau.

The fight to nberalize the discharge
rule will be aggressively waged In the
next session of Congress-aLd prob
ably with some measure OF success.
Representative Gerald j. Boileau,
Progressive of Wisconsin, will lead
the drive, with support of the third
party groups, but he will also have as
active lieutenants some of the staunch-
est Democrats who have suffered be-
cause some measures to which they
had given earnest study were ruth
lessly pigeonholed In committees
such men as Chairman Cochran Of
the Committee on Expenditures and
Chairman Ludlow of an important
appropriations subcommittee.
The discharge rule" is q parlia-
mentary device under which a bill
that Is being smothered in committee
may be retrieved and brought to the
House for debate and a vote. Under
the discharge rule now in operation,
q petition for discharge of the COM
mittee from further consideration of
that particular measure does not be-
come effective until it is signed by
218 members. or majority of the
House membership. Formerly the
number Of signers required was las,
and 1t was much easier then to bring
bill out Of an unfriendly committee
and directly before the House. There
has been suggestion that q figure
halfway between these two-or 1T,
might be more workable.
Liberal Group Formed.
Just prior to the closing of the last
Congress liberal group was organ
lied In the House to conduct cam
paign to tighten the discharge rule
These are openly working for a return
to the former figure of las signers tc
the petition for discharge, but would
be open to a compromise-say of 1866
Representative Boileau is chairman
Of the group and Representative
Charles G. Binderup Of Nebraska, q
Democrat, Is secretary. This organ
ization started with So members, but
more than a score more offered thei,
support.
They emphasize the need for some
such change "if popular government
Is to be exemplif1ed in our law max
ing body, because without the dis.
charge rule there Is now no provision
whereby bill or resolution shall be
automatically reported to the House
after 1t has lain In committee a Ger.
tain length of time"
Representative Ludlow, formerly q
well-known Washington correspond
ent, predicts that when Congress re-
convenes Boileau and his associates
will make things exceedingly interest
ing for the tories and Bourbons who
believe that every committee should
uaintain a spacious graveyard and
that all bills that are disapproved by
the ruling powers should be killed ir
committee without benefit Of clergy
Has Special Grievance.
Ludlow had special grievance. o,
February IA, 1885, he introduced /.
joint resolution proposing an amend
ment to the Constitution to provide ,
referendum vote on a declaration o
war and to take the profits out O
war. When Congress adjourned hi
resolution had reposed in committe,
for 16 months and six days.
Another illustration of where ,
prominent member Of the House
chairman Of an important committee
the Committee on Expenditures
was unable to get action: On February
5, Representative Cochran of Missouri.
introduced bill to repeal the act
creating the Federal Register. Sup
ported by members of the Appropri.
ations Committee. which held hearings
on the subject, Mr.. Cochran empha-
sized that this publication rs worth
less, but It costs the taxpayers $253, ,ooo
o year"
The committee to which his bill wa.
referred had five months and Is day,
h which to act, but when Congress
adjourned 1t was still buried.