Washington, D.C. - Members of Congress should have ample time to read a bill before voting on it.  It's a common sense notion that rarely is put into practice.  Today, Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) joined with Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) in submitting a discharge petition that would bring Congressman Baird's "72 Hour Rule" (H. Res. 554) to the House floor for a vote.  The straight forward, bipartisan legislation would require all major bills be posted online for at least 72 hours prior to being considered for final passage by the House of Representatives.  Currently H. Res. 554 has 98 cosponsors. 

Click here to see Congressman Baird discussing the issue on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight

"Members of Congress are too often asked to make decisions on bills that can be longer than telephone books and are only given a few hours to actually read them.  That is simply wrong," said Congressman Baird.  "This isn't about politics.  Both parties are guilty.  Now is the time to fix this once and for all, and put rules in place so that Congress is better able to serve the American people.  People should have a chance to read what is in legislation before it becomes law, not after."

A discharge petition is a rarely used procedural tool available to every Member of the House of Representatives to call up legislation for a vote.  To succeed, a petition must receive signatures from a majority of Members (currently this threshold is 218).  Once a majority of Members sign on, the bill is discharged from the committee system and brought to the floor for consideration.   This process was used to pass landmark campaign finance reform legislation; today that law is commonly referred to as McCain Feingold.

"Passing the seventy-two hour rule is common sense," said Congressman Baird.  "If every American contacts their Representative and encourages him or her to sign this discharge petition, I'm confident that the seventy-two hour rule will become law."

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