Transition Amendment: Rapporteur expands spending ceiling by R$ 175 billion for two years to fund Brazil Aid.
The initial version of the text envisioned removing the Brazil Aid program from the spending cap rule for four years; the government is expected to propose a new fiscal framework in 2023.
Infomoney - The rapporteur for the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) on Transition in the Senate, Alexandre Silveira (PSD-MG), read his version of the proposal on Tuesday (6), which seeks to ensure the payment of R$ 600 per month of Auxílio Brasil, the government's income transfer program that should be renamed Bolsa Família.
Silveira explained that he proposed "completely removing" Bolsa Família from the spending cap, creating a fixed value for the social program at R$ 175 billion in 2023 and 2024. According to him, fixing this value for the next two years would end the "natural insecurity of those who want predictability in public spending."
“I chose to completely remove the social program from the spending cap, but to create a fixed value for this program. The big question in the market was whether this value would be fixed, which would bring natural insecurity to those who want predictability in public spending. I made a compromise between approving the idea of removing 100% of the program from the spending cap, but fixing the program's value for the next two years,” he said.
Although Silveira stated that the amount would be for Bolsa Família, the text does not explicitly define that the R$ 175 billion should go to the social program. According to the version presented, the increase in the spending cap may "be used to meet requests from the transition team and the permanent committees of the National Congress or its Houses."
Silveira also stated that he included in his report a provision requiring the new government to present a new fiscal framework to Congress in 2023 to replace the spending cap, saying he has "signals" that this will happen in the first half of next year. As the senator pointed out, the deadline is only for the presentation of the new fiscal anchor, which could be voted on only in 2024.
“If you don’t have enough funds within the spending cap to protect the most vulnerable, you have to look for a solution outside the cap until a new fiscal framework for the country is discussed, and it’s natural that the new government has a minimum timeframe for that. I even took that precaution, setting a deadline for the government to present the new fiscal framework to Congress so that we can move forward,” he said.
The reading took place in the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), the committee responsible for analyzing the proposed constitutional amendment before sending the text to the main plenary session of the House. The initial version of the text foresaw removing the "Auxílio Brasil" (Brazil Aid) program from the spending cap rule for four years.
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With 27 full members, the CCJ is chaired by Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP). They analyze proposed amendments to the Constitution before forwarding them to the House Plenary. To be approved, the text must receive a favorable opinion from a simple majority of those present.
The expectation is that the Transition Amendment will be voted on in the Senate plenary tomorrow. It is on the House's agenda. To that end, Alcolumbre, Silveira, and the Senate president, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), held a meeting yesterday in an attempt to reach an understanding on the version of the text read by the rapporteur this Tuesday.
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