The Senate approved this Wednesday (13) the bill that aims to provide transparency to the payment of parliamentary amendments, defining all traceability of resources. The approval came under criticism from the opposition, which considers the proposal to be “blackmail” and yet another interference by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Congress.
The bill was approved with 46 votes, 18 against and 1 abstention. The highlights of the project should be analyzed on Thursday (14), after a leaders meeting in the morning. The text will return to the Chamber for further analysis, due to changes made by senators.
The transfers have been blocked since August following a determination by Minister Flávio Dino, who claimed that congressmen were not complying with the rules imposed by the Constitution.
The proposal’s rapporteur, senator Ângelo Coronel (PSD-BA), stated that the text is not exactly what all parliamentarians would like, but that it was enough to meet Dino’s order. “We did our best to produce a text that may not please everyone, but your excellency [Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), presidente do Senado] you will be satisfied”, he highlighted.
He stated that the approved text underwent some “specific” changes to what was sent from the Chamber of Deputies regarding the various types of transfers, including individual, special and bench transfers.
The proposal, however, was approved under protests from the opposition, which claims that parliamentarians are being blackmailed “under suspicion of corruption”, according to Senator Espiridião Amin (PP-SC). And, once again, by order of the STF, in reference to clashes between Congress and the Court on issues such as abortion and the demarcation of indigenous lands.
“Once again, the STF brings us to our knees. And the author of this decision [o ministro Flávio Dino] I was here in this house. I agree that we have to have transparency and we will have to track it. But, I disagree with the way he did it, he was here, why didn’t he present a bill here”, he asked.
A little earlier, senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) stated that he has been working on a similar project to present, taking a position against the one that was approved.
Among the modifications made to the proposal, Ângelo Coronel reintroduced the possibility for the Executive Branch — Presidency of the Republic — to determine the blocking of amendments when necessary. However, you will have to consult MPs first.
“If it needs to be blocked, the parliamentarian will indicate the amendment that can be blocked. It won’t be random,” he said.
Another change was in the nomenclature from “blockade” to “contingency”, which can only be applied when there is a drop in revenue. The government leader in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), also suggested changing the term to “containment measures”, but this will only be decided after voting on the highlights.
Furthermore, the rapporteur increased the number of amendments that each state bench can propose from eight to 10, to improve the allocation of resources for structuring projects in both larger and smaller states.
Another change was the exclusion of the prohibition for parliamentarians to allocate special transfer resources to unfinished works not started by them. Now, supervisory bodies will be able to suggest adjustments to the work plan if they identify inconsistencies.
In relation to transparency, the new text requires that, in the case of the so-called “Pix Amendments” of direct transfer to municipalities and states —, the beneficiaries inform the Federal Audit Court (TCU) and the state or municipal audit courts, within 30 days, on the amount received, the work plan and the execution schedule. States and municipalities must also disclose, on transparency portals, the specific bank account for depositing resources.
The project also establishes that the government may block funds from amendments up to the proportional limit applied to other discretionary expenses. For 2025, the amendment ceiling will be maintained in accordance with the net current revenue already provided for in the Constitution, with an additional R$11.5 billion for commission amendments.
In 2026, the adjustment will be made based on inflation, and may increase by up to 2.5%, according to the rules of the new fiscal framework.
