The Senate plenary began to discuss today (10) a bill that creates a fuel price stabilization account (CEP Combustíveis) and expands the Auxílio Gás program. The debate takes place on the same day that Petrobras announced the rising prices of diesel by around 25%, in its refineries, and of gasoline by almost 19%, as a result of the rise in oil prices on the international market due to the war in Ukraine.
The session in the plenary of the House began on Thursday morning (10) with the vote on consensual proposals on other topics and was suspended for just over an hour for the final adjustments to the proposals by the rapporteur of the matters, Jean Paul Prates (PT -RN).
Faced with the announcement by Petrobras and several frustrated attempts by the Senate to advance the proposals, due to lack of consensus, the president of the House, Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), asked for the commitment of the pairs to deliberation on the topics today. Pacheco told the senators that the announcement of the substantial increase in fuel prices by Petrobras requires the Senate to consider both projects this Thursday.
Changes
The rapporteur of the fuel package in the Senate, Jean Paul Prates, accepted the creation of an aid to low-income drivers and the expansion of the gas voucher to needy families. According to the opinion filed this Thursday, the senator included the measures in the bill that creates a fuel price stabilization bill. Before, the subsidies were provided for in the text that changes the collection of ICMS, a tax collected by the states. The two texts are scheduled this Thursday in plenary.
In the proposal being discussed this afternoon in the Senate, the so-called Brazilian Fuel Aid will benefit self-employed drivers, taxi drivers and app motorcyclists with a family income of up to three minimum wages, prioritizing who receives the Auxílio Brasil.
The cost of the measure is R$ 3 billion and should be within the spending ceiling, according to the text. In addition, the opinion extends the gas voucher, currently paid by the federal government, to 11 million families, doubling the public served, with an impact of R$ 1.9 billion this year, also within the tax rules.
