PSOL wants an investigation into allegations against Pedro Novais and Francisco Escórcio.
The former minister had a housekeeper whose salary was paid by the Chamber of Deputies for seven years.
The PSOL party will formally request that the Chamber's internal affairs committee investigate the allegations against Congressman and former Minister of Tourism Pedro Novais (PMDB-MA) and Congressman Francisco Escórcio (PMDB-MA) for alleged misappropriation of public funds. The request will be filed this afternoon with the Chamber's board.
The basis for the request is the revelations that Novais paid the salary of his apartment's housekeeper from 2003 to 2010 with money from the Chamber of Deputies intended for parliamentary activity, and that the former minister's wife, Maria Helena de Melo, irregularly uses a Chamber employee, hired by Escórcio's office, as a private driver, according to a report in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.
The PSOL party had been considering, since yesterday when Novais left office, filing a complaint against the congressman for lack of parliamentary decorum. "The case is very serious. The former minister is using public funds for private gain," said Congressman Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP). PSOL requested the opening of proceedings against Congresswoman Jaqueline Roriz (PMN-DF), caught on video receiving money from the key figure in the "mensalão do DF" scandal, Durval Barbosa, but the plenary session acquitted the congresswoman.
The Speaker of the House, Marco Maia, yesterday condemned the use of House funds for private activities and anticipated that the Board would be prompted by some political party to investigate the allegations against Novais. He stated that any request will be forwarded to the House's ombudsman, Eduardo da Fonte (PP-PE), for the preparation of an opinion, after hearing the parliamentarian's defense.
According to the House rules, each representative has a budget of R$ 60 per month to hire up to 25 staff members to work "exclusively in parliamentary offices in Brasília or in the state where the representative is represented."