The Chamber of Deputies will seek to meet next week to debate the project on “Zero Alcohol”, while the Senate has already confirmed the treatment of the 2023 Budget project and the extension of taxes, within the framework of the parliamentary agenda extended until the end of year after extension of ordinary ordered this week by the Executive Power.
The main parliamentary referents of the Lower House are currently working on the elaboration of a consensus agenda that would include as a main topic the prohibition of drinking alcohol before driving vehiclesan initiative that completed its endorsement in commissions last Thursday.
The project is promoted by the National Road Safety Agency and backed by “Madres del Dolor” and Despite the fact that he obtained broad support in the Transport and Internal Security commissions, he had some questions from deputies representing provinces with a strong weight in the wine industrysuch as Mendoza and San Juan.
Meanwhile, the upper house has already scheduled an extensive session for Wednesday or Thursday in which the draft Budget 2023 It will be the main issue after being ruled 10 days ago, after its approval in the Deputies.
That day will also deal with the project that extends until 2027 a six pack tax that expire next December 31 and that represent, according to the Ministry of Economy, about 40% of the total collection of the State if the specific VAT allocations are included.
The Senate Agenda
For the remainder of the year in the upper house, the senators have pending to begin their work in commissions bills approved in the last session of this week of the Chamber of Deputies linked to social and health issues.
The creation of a register of food debtorsthe relaxation of procedures for the renewal of the Single Certificate of Disability and a rule to exempt health personnel from paying Income Tax are some of the issues that could be discussed in committee in the coming days.
The bill was also sent to the Senate with half sanction of Deputies that requires public officials to be trained in the prevention and early detection of violence against children and adolescentsthe so-called Lucio Law, for the boy who was beaten to death last November 26 in Santa Rosa, La Pampa.
On the other hand, among the initiatives that already have a favorable opinion in the Senate, the ruling bill to facilitate the call for popular consultations and the granting of an allowance for those who do not receive any type of income.
Without the support of the opposition, the Frente de Todos approved in a plenary session of commissions on September 21 a project that modifies the requirements needed to call a popular consultation, with the purpose of facilitating the implementation of that instrument provided for in the Constitution.
Although with nuances, the initiatives seek to alleviate the necessary majority in both houses of Congress to approve a call for popular consultation: it will go from an absolute majority (as resolved by the current law) to a “majority of the members present.”
Likewise, it is established that the consultation can be done on the same day that a general election is held.
Among the social issues, which already have an opinion, could be added to the sessions between now and December a law criminalizing illegal adoptionsanother that recognizes the sign language as a language throughout the national territory and a rule that requires incorporating pictograms in food charts of the restaurants.
The bill that establishes the program is also in the folder. Connect equality for the promotion of young people’s access to technology as a State policy.
The Senate had also scheduled for the remainder of the year to hear the last management report of the chief of staff Juan Manzur, which was scheduled for November but still has no official call.
The senators have already sent their questions to the Chief of Staff and awaited the setting of the date for the call for this session.
Chamber of Deputies
In the lower house, meanwhile, during the last two weeks committee meetings have intensified and a busy agenda is expected for the next ones, taking into account the extension of the extension of ordinary sessions until the end of the year.
The ruling party points to the environmental agenda: this week they received opinions projects on Wetlands Law and on minimum budgets for environmental protection for the comprehensive management of end-of-life tires (NFU).
This week the debate will also be resumed in the Natural Resources commission of the packaging lawwhich last year had obtained an opinion in commissions but lost that condition with the legislative change in December.
Some deputies, without distinction of benches, insist on dealing with the issue of UVA mortgage loans and the one that regulates the activity and defends consumers in relation to self-saving plans.
Another project that will be reactivated in the coming days is the one that establishes the creation of the Social Security Debt Payment Planwhich seeks the income of pension contributions from people of retirement age and who have missing payments for access to benefits.
The project promoted by Senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti received half a sanction from the upper house in June and was analyzed by the Deputies’ Forecast and Budget commissions between July and August.
In this dynamic, this Friday, the head of the Chamber, Cecilia Moreau, discussed the project in a meeting she held with the head of Anses, Fernanda Raverta, and with the deputy Paula Penacca.
“So that almost 800,000 Argentines and Argentines of retirement age can do so, we met with Raverta to work on the Pension Debt Payment Plan that we will discuss soon in Congress,” Moreau announced on social networks.
In this context, he recalled that in Argentina “only one out of 10 women and three out of 10 men have the amount of contributions to retire” and considered that “a new law is essential to continue guaranteeing pension coverage.”
So that almost 800,000 Argentine men and women of retirement age can do so, we met with @PaulaPenacca Y @FerRaverta to work on the Social Security Debt Payment Plan that we will deal with shortly in Congress. pic.twitter.com/D12vR2Sif4
— Cecilia Moreau (@ceciliamoreauok) November 11, 2022
As for the rest of the possible agenda, from Together for Change and other opposition groups they are also seeking consensus to try to make the draft Rental Lawruled last May, arrive at the venue before the end of the year, although several legislators agree that the lack of agreements would prevent it from going down to the venue.
The same fate would befall the projects of Buy Argentine and creation of Fund to pay the IMFwhich, promoted by the Frente de Todos, had a majority opinion, but without a number to be approved in plenary.
Added to the parliamentary agenda are initiatives such as the windfall project or that of agribusiness, on which the Executive Power urged that progress be made when establishing the extension of the ordinary sessions.
