The year of change

The Federal Senate, in order to be the institution that Brazilians desire, has been undergoing profound changes, both political and institutional or administrative.

The internal streamlining program, in 2013 alone, accounted for savings of R$ 265 million, which were returned to public coffers with the recommendation that they be invested in daycare centers and the Bolsa Família program.

This represents savings very close to the target for the 2013/2014 biennium, which was R$ 300 million.

Out of respect for the taxpayer, we have demonstrated that it is possible to do more with less, since the legislative output of 2013 exceeded that of the previous year. The savings are the result of several administrative actions.

The fourteenth and fifteenth salaries for parliamentarians were eliminated. 630 commissioned positions were eliminated (30% of the total). We implemented a seven-hour workday, avoiding new hires. And we merged redundant administrative structures.

Seven contracts involving outsourced labor had their values ​​reduced, and two others were completely canceled. Spending on consumable materials was also decreased.

We eliminated privileges by closing the Senate's medical service. Healthcare professionals began serving the entire population through the SUS (Unified Health System), and we reduced expenses on per diems and travel.

We also immediately applied the salary cap determined by the TCU (Federal Court of Accounts), at the instigation of the Federal Senate, and created an occupancy tax for properties inhabited by non-senators.

We created the Secretariat and the Transparency Council, which includes members from civil society. The Transparency Portal contains all information, except that protected by confidentiality. In the first year the Access to Information Law was in effect, the Federal Senate failed to respond to only 1% of the more than 30 requests.

Internally, thematic sessions were created to deepen the debates and the requirement for the heads of regulatory agencies to provide annual reports to the Federal Senate. We will evaluate the National Tax System and public policies.

We also adopted a new criterion for analyzing vetoes. We promoted historical revisions, symbolically returning the Senate mandates to Luiz Carlos Prestes and his alternate Abel Chermont, and to President João Goulart.

We are modernizing outdated regulations that have become outdated over time, such as those in the Penal Execution Law, Arbitration Law, Mediation Law, the Commercial Code, the Penal Code, and the Bidding Law.

Even with lower spending, we approved 615 articles in 2013, 50% more than in 2012. It's not just about quantity, but also the quality of the articles.

We extended labor rights to domestic workers. We approved the Youth Statute, the law that mandates breast reconstruction through the SUS (Brazilian public healthcare system), we secured home-based cancer treatment covered by health insurance plans, the right to transfer taxi driver permits, the financing of healthcare through parliamentary amendments, and the allocation of a portion of oil royalties to education and healthcare. We expanded open voting.

Following the popular demonstrations in the middle of the year, we approved more than 40 proposals in less than 20 days, unblocking the notoriously bureaucratic gears of the legislative process. Some are still being processed in the Chamber of Deputies.

The crime of corruption has been aggravated and has become heinous. We approved the "clean record" law for public servants, already in effect in the Senate. We secured a ban on spouses or relatives serving as alternate senators and voted to halve the number of signatures required for the inclusion of laws proposed by society on the Congressional agenda.

We eliminated the retirement benefits that rewarded convicted judges and prosecutors. We also approved the automatic loss of mandate for parliamentarians convicted of misconduct or crimes against public administration, and the accountability of legal entities involved in corruption and the fight against torture.

We are gradually correcting distortions and excesses that have accumulated in recent years.