The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), stated this Thursday (28) that the spending cut proposal, presented by the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), will be analyzed with priority by the senators. The announcement took place after a meeting of party leaders with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha.
The proposal will begin in the Chamber of Deputies before going to the Senate. However, Pacheco informed that he intends to submit the text directly to the plenary, without going through the legislative committees.
“I was able to express to Minister Haddad my particularly good impression regarding the measures. Our commitment is that, as soon as the Chamber of Deputies considers it, the Senate submits it directly to the Plenary. So that by the end of the year, before the recess, we can see these measures from the economic team appreciated,” said Pacheco.
The government intends to forward a proposed amendment to the Constitution and a complementary bill with a series of measures that should generate savings of R$70 billion over the next two years.
According to Pacheco, the next three weeks will require “very intense work” from parliamentarians. He reported that he appealed to leaders to ensure “concentrated efforts” in the deliberative sessions.
The president of the Senate also pointed out the expectation of voting on the package by both houses of the National Congress before the parliamentary recess, scheduled for December 22nd. However, congressmen will have to be very agile to vote on the package and other pending issues such as the 2025 Budget Law and tax reform regulations.
“We have little time and a big challenge. I estimate that the Chamber of Deputies will be able to make this assessment in the next two weeks. And perhaps the last working week before the recess will be reserved so that the Senate can consider it”, he stated.
On the other hand, Fernando Haddad reaffirmed that the proposals to be sent by the government at the end of the year should be analyzed by congressmen throughout 2025, a year that he classifies as “quiet” as there are no elections.
