A stated this Friday (27) to the minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), that the letter signed by party leaders with indications of R$ 4.2 billion in commission amendments followed instructions from the Lula (PT) government.
In response to the minister, the Chamber’s lawyers said that a decree published by the Executive allowed party leaders to present themselves as authors of amendment nominations.
By gap, was used by the Chamber and to maintain the payment of committee amendments without the real congressmen who requested the appeal having their names disclosed — in a maneuver to the transparency and traceability rules imposed by the Supreme Court.
In the petition sent to the Supreme Court, the Chamber says that party leaders sent the government the indication of R$4.2 billion after consulting their respective benches. The allocation of resources was not analyzed by the committees, according to the House, because the legislation in force did not provide for this process.
“Both the Senate and Chamber adopted the previous guidelines of the Executive Branch, precisely because committee amendments are not binding”, says the Chamber.
Headed by deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the Chamber also stated that commission amendments are approved by thematic collegiate bodies always in the previous year. They are large amendments, worth around R$500 million, and their actions also cover broad themes, such as “promoting the agricultural sector”.
During the year, the amounts are released little by little following instructions from the commissions.
The presidents of the collegiate bodies send letters to the Executive informing, for example, that of the R$500 million for “promoting the agricultural sector”, R$2 million should be transferred to the purchase of tractors in a municipality in Piauí.
The indications, however, are not transparent nor do they follow technical criteria. , the top of the Chamber uses resources for political negotiations — and Alagoas, land of Arthur Lira, than larger states.
“Until November 25, 2024, the date of promulgation of Complementary Law No. 210, there was no rule that provided for voting on nominations made by Parliament. There was only the requirement of the LDO of 2024 that committee nominations be conveyed by official letters of its presidents”, said the Chamber in the opinion sent to the Supreme Court.
Therefore, according to the Chamber, there can be no talk of illegality or maneuver on the part of Congress when releasing resources for committee amendments on the recommendation of party leaders.
“The full legality of the procedure adopted by the Leaders of the National Congress, both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, is reiterated, under legal guidance [do governo federal].”
The responses sent by the Chamber are part of the new debate surrounding parliamentary amendments. On Monday (23), Minister Flávio Dino suspended the payment of R$4.2 billion in commission amendments due to non-compliance with STF decisions.
The allocation of the money was foreseen in a letter sent by the Chamber to the Executive. The document was signed by the 17 party leaders of the House, and the amount is the sum of 5,449 indications of committee amendments.
In practice, as revealed by the magazine, the document made new allocations of resources, without the approval of the collegiate bodies and without the true author of the request being identified, as the 17 leaders signed the letter.
According to the report, the new indications presented total R$180 million — there are also other changes that reach R$98 million. The state that would benefit the most would be Arthur Lira’s stronghold, Alagoas, with almost R$500 million.
The maneuver carried out in the Chamber failed to comply with STF determinations on parliamentary amendments. In August, the court’s plenary ruled that the funds could only be released if there was total transparency and traceability, which includes the identification of the congressmen who suggested the allocation of the money.
In Monday’s decision, Dino also ordered the Federal Police to open an investigation to investigate the process of releasing these resources, including the testimony of deputies who had denounced irregularities. The investigation was opened the following day.
Despite Congress’s reactions to the new suspension of parliamentary amendments, the Chamber informed that it is not up to it to evaluate a possible appeal to Dino’s decision. “This House reiterates that it will not present an appeal in light of the Rapporteur’s decision, as such an appeal would be the responsibility of the National Congress and the Attorney General’s Office and not the Chamber of Deputies”, he said.
