Senate will have a committee to uphold approval of the Forest Code.
The presidents of the Agriculture, Environment, Science and Technology, and Constitution and Justice committees will form a group to prevent President Dilma's veto.
Brazil Agency – In the search for a solution to the impasse regarding the possible veto of the Forest Code, the presidents of the Senate's Agriculture, Environment, Science and Technology, and Constitution and Justice committees will form a commission to discuss with the Chamber of Deputies and the Civil House ways to maintain the part of the text approved by the senators and altered by the deputies.
According to the chairman of the Environment Committee, Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF), a direct dialogue with the Civil House is necessary to find out which points of the text could be vetoed by President Dilma Rousseff and, from there, guarantee the approval of Bill 123/12, which deals precisely with the points of the code that were overturned by the Chamber.
The legislation establishes criteria for the restoration of lands with rivers wider than ten meters and areas that were deforested up to 2008. The obligation to restore was included by senators in the original text of the Forest Code, but was overturned in a final vote by the Chamber of Deputies. "The government views the pursuit of a political agreement in Parliament favorably," said Rollemberg.
President Dilma Rousseff has until the 25th to partially veto, fully veto, or approve the text of the code. The idea is that, if the text is vetoed, the approval of the bill will already be coordinated with deputies and senators.
“We need to approve this project already knowing what will be vetoed. We need to know the gaps that remain so that the project can be corrected. And ideally, we should seek an understanding by then,” Rollemberg added.