House rules change makes discharge petition signatures public throughout entire session

The House adopted a rules change at the start of the 107th Congress making the names of discharge petition signers publicly available at all times — not just after the petition reached 218 signatures. The reform, pushed by transparency advocates for years, meant that constituents, advocacy groups, and the press could monitor which members had signed at any stage. The change fundamentally altered the political calculus of signing: leadership could no longer quietly pressure members out of signing before public exposure.