Chamber approves transparency measures and secret budget ceiling

The Chamber of Deputies approved, this Monday (29), a draft resolution that aims to increase the transparency of the amendments made by the General Rapporteur on the Budget – known as the secret budget.

The approved text is senator Marcelo Castro's (MDB-PI) substitute for the National Congressional Resolution Project (PRN) 4/21. The document determines a ceiling for amendments in the approximate amount of R$ 16.2 billion and establishes that they be disclosed on the internet, however, without specifying whether the name of the congressman will also have to be disclosed.

Castro rejected the 22 proposed amendments on the grounds that the idea was to resolve the situation as a matter of urgency. “What we are doing is an emergency thing, to save what was committed, what remains to be committed and save the budget”, he said.

According to the deputy, the opinion complies 100% with the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) which, on the 10th, suspended the amendments of the general rapporteur to the Union Budget. now, but not retroactively. "There is no need for the appeal to reach a municipality and not know who the congressman who requested it was," he said.

protests

The session featured protests from several parliamentarians. Many of them, such as Deputy Talíria Petrone (Psol-RJ), argued that the session should be aimed at considering vetoes and not the project in question. Others, such as Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP), argued that the topic was too complex to be debated and voted on in a single session.

The fact that the rapporteur's substitute does not specify whether the names of the congressmen will be disclosed made many deputies question the real transparency of the resolution and whether it would meet the demands of the STF. According to Alessandro Molon (PSB-RJ), the text does not guarantee that the applicants' names will be linked to the approved amendments.

“Public money cannot be allocated based on the government's affinity or not. It has to meet impersonal and isonomic criteria”, he said.

senate votes next

As PRN 4/21 is a resolution of the National Congress, the text must be approved by the two Houses in a t session. However, due to the pandemic, the House and Senate are voting separately. The expectation is that, even today, senators will appreciate the matter.

Text translated using artificial intelligence.