Chamber approves project that pays for the Pé-de-Meia program

The Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) the bill that allows the government to use up to R$4 billion from the (Operations Guarantee Fund) to pay for the Neighborhood Savings Program to stimulate completion of high school. The text will return to the Senate due to changes.

The bill, from the Senate, was approved with the opinion of the deputy (PDT-RS) which includes a provision on the purchase of carbon credits by insurance companies. This topic was already voted on on Tuesday by the Chamber in bill 182 of 2024, but with a different wording.

Some excerpts from the Pronampe law, supporting the microenterpriseschanged by the project were also changed recently (October this year) through law 14,995 of 2024.

As one of the FGO’s duties is to ensure loan operations in Pronampe, PL 6,012 of 2023 determines that, from 2025, half (50%) of the fund’s resources not used to guarantee these loans, as well as the amounts recovered, should continue for this purpose. The rest can go to Pé-de-Meia, which makes payments to public school students who complete secondary education and take the Enem.

Currently, the law approved in October this year determines the use of these surpluses, from 2025, to pay the public debt. With the change approved on Tuesday, the allocation of FGO resources to Fipem (Savings Fund to Incentive Retention and School Completion for High School Students) becomes one of its responsibilities. Fipem is a private Caixa fund to which Pé-de-Meia resources are transferred.

Parliamentary amendments

The approved text also authorizes the Union to increase its participation in the FGO to cover Pronampe operations in the same amount as parliamentary amendments for this purpose included in the Budget Law. This will be outside the current limits for paying up shares in the fund.

Federal government, states and municipalities and their respective bodies and entities, including public consortia, may sign an agreement with Banco do Brasil, administrator of the FGO. This will be allowed even for private institutions, as per legislation. The objective is to encourage the development of micro and small businesses in its area of ​​activity.

Afonso Mota stated that the discontinuation of Pronampe from 2025 would have negative effects on the economy and the financial health of micro and small companies. “Micro and small entrepreneurs would have greater difficulty accessing credit and, probably, a negative impact on their businesses as they do not have enough equity to finance their activities”these.

The deputy (PL-TO) declared that Pronampe has helped many micro and small companies in the country since the management of (PL), even with the use of guarantee funds to make the program viable. “We have these positive factors, but we have negative factors, which is the budget issue. It’s a blank check given to the government.”said Borges.

For the deputy (Novo-RS), the project is poorly designed because it uses funds outside the fiscal framework. “The government is using subterfuge outside the Budget, using a credit card to pay the revolving bill on another card. No fiscal responsibility”statement from Hattem.

carbon credits

To comply with an agreement between party leaders on the percentage of purchase of carbon credits by insurance companies, the Chamber plenary approved an identical excerpt of text previously approved in PL 182 of 2024, changing only the index.

Thus, instead of insurance companies, open supplementary pension entities, capitalization companies and local reinsurers having to purchase a minimum of 1% per year of environmental assets to compose their technical reserves and provisions, the new text establishes the minimum of 0.5% proposed by senators.

Deputy Marcel van Hattem questioned the method of approving this point. “The article within a report makes reference to a law not yet sanctioned and, therefore, with a project not instructed in accordance with the Internal Regulations”declared the congressman.

With information from .