The Chamber of Deputies approved the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 122/2015, which prohibits the increase in expenses without the forecast of revenues. The text was approved after an agreement between party leaders allowed the proposal to be voted in two rounds, without the need for an interstice.
The score was 383 votes in favor and 27 against in the first round, and 379 against 22 in the second round. The text is now awaiting promulgation.
According to the text of the proposal, “the imposition and transfer, by law, of any financial burden arising from the provision of public service to the Union, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities, as well as to prohibit the creation or the increase in expenditure not included in the annual budget law or in the annual budget bill”.
In practice, the PEC says that it will not be possible to transfer charges to another federative entity without the corresponding counterpart of resources, including personnel expenses and their charges, for the Union, the states, the Federal District and municipalities. The only excepted expenses are those arising from the establishment of the minimum wage and the obligations assumed spontaneously by the federated entities.
Federative Pact
In defending the approval of the text, the government leader, deputy Ricardo Barros (PP-PR), said that the PEC brings balance to the federative pact, by establishing that the transfer of charges between the entities of the Federation will require the transfer of the respective financial resources. intended for its coverage.
“It is a victory for Brazilian municipalism. It opens the dialogue of the three spheres of the federation entities for the decision of public spending ”, he said. “It is very important for the balance between the entities of the federation. So that the programs are carried out with dialogue, responsibility and resources for their financing”, he added.
For deputy Marcelo Ramos (PSD-AM) the proposal will prevent, among other points, that the Union makes the transfer of programs to the municipalities without consequent budget allocation.
“We are increasingly approving new obligations at the federal level for Brazilian municipalities without transferring the proportional resources to do so. When we establish a rule that every new obligation requires the transfer of the financial resources necessary to sustain this new obligation, we reaffirm our federative pact and walk towards balance”, he said.
Social programs and category floor
Despite the agreement, some parties were against the proposal. In their assessment, the PEC will prevent, among other things, the possibility of creating new social programs by federative entities.
“This is not just about state and municipal expenditures, with whom we are deeply concerned and have always been concerned with the federative balance. We are dealing here with Union counterparts, social programs, management innovation necessary for the demands of the country’s poorest population, the need to pay for medicines, emergency programs needed by the people”, said deputy Jandira Feghali (PCdoB- RJ).
For Congresswoman Fernanda Melchiona (PSol-RS), the project reinforces the logic of other legislative instruments, such as the spending cap, which restrict investment in new social policies and programs.
“Harm reduction does not make the PEC good. On the contrary, she is bad. It reinforces the spending ceiling policy in practice, it does not go to the root of the problems that attack not only the federative pact, but the freezing of social policies and an economic agenda aimed at the interests of the financial system”, he criticized.
The deputies also expressed concern about the possibility of the PEC harming the debate on the national floors of categories, especially the PEC that establishes the national salary floor for nurses, nursing technicians, nursing assistants and midwives. The text was approved in second shift last night.
The leader of the PSB, Bira do Pindaré (PSB-MA), said he understood the importance of the debate on the federative pact, but said that the measure could prevent the increase of the floor of the category and others. “We understand that this proposal was born as a reaction of several proposals that we defend here as the national floor of nursing and of several other categories”, he said.
In defending the approval of the text, the president of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said that he had closed an agreement with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), to enact the PEC for the floor this Thursday afternoon and of only enacting PEC 122 in another session of the National Congress.
“This PEC of today [PEC 122] we will keep it for enactment for the next session of the National Congress”, he said.
