Chamber approves adaptation of the Budget to the coronavirus crisis.

Chamber Agency - The Chamber of Deputies approved this Thursday, in a session of the National Congress, PLN 2/20, which amends the current Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) to regulate the mandatory execution of parliamentary amendments. The vote was conducted through the Remote Deliberation System (SDR).

At 17 PM, the senators will vote on the proposal. Since the technological solution for remote voting differs from one House to the other, it was decided that the bills will be analyzed first by the virtual plenary of the Chamber of Deputies and then by the Senate.

The text approved in the Chamber is the substitute proposed by the rapporteur on the matter in the Joint Budget Committee, Representative Cacá Leão (PP-BA), and received 441 votes in favor and only 1 against.

Due to differences in the systems developed by the legislative houses to allow deliberations during the Covid-19 pandemic, the discussion and vote on the matter by the Senate is scheduled for 17 pm.

The 1st vice-president of the National Congress, Representative Marcos Pereira (Republicanos-SP), who presided over the session, considered the only two amendments presented to the substitute bill to be invalid.

Pereira also emphasized that voting on PLN 2/20 before the vetoes that are blocking the agenda of the National Congress is an exceptional measure resulting from the state of public calamity recognized by the National Congress in March, as defined in Joint Act 2/20.

In an addendum presented in plenary session, Cacá Leão inserted provisions into the Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) to adapt the text to efforts to combat the new coronavirus in the country, allowing for increased spending or reduced revenue without the need to present offsetting measures.

Charges

The leader of the PSL party, congresswoman Joice Hasselmann (PSL-SP), said that the changes made the party shift its stance to support the bill. "These changes free the government to inject more money and prevent chaos due to the coronavirus. Now the government needs to do its part," demanded the congresswoman.

Similarly, Representative Léo Moraes (Pode-RO) said that the text increases the power in the hands of public managers. "We believe in the public spirit and hope that managers will not divert their focus or resources."

Without contingency measures

Speaking on behalf of the PCdoB leadership, Representative Alice Portugal (PCdoB-BA) also defended the text, but said she would not accept budget cuts from the federal government. “It’s another form of relief. The text regulates the mandatory budget, which is demonized by many but is what guarantees the arrival of resources to states and municipalities,” she noted. “But we will not accept budget cuts in 2020, because the Union is already exempt from complying with the Fiscal Responsibility Law during the state of emergency,” she added.

The National Treasury estimates that, as a result of actions to combat the effects of Covid-19 and mitigate the economic impacts of the disease, expenses should exceed revenues, before interest payments, by almost R$ 400 billion. However, the state of public calamity exempts compliance with fiscal targets this year.