Release to congressmen escalated in September, during negotiations for the vote on income tax exemption; government threatens to restrict funding
The amendments reserved for congressmen reached the R$26 billion mark on Thursday (9.Oct.2025). The amount represents 52% of the total reserved for the year. The commitment soared in September, during negotiations in the Chamber for those earning up to R$5,000 and other priority agendas of the PT government.
The data is from the last update of the (Integrated Planning and Budget System), accessed on Saturday night (Oct 11).
The 2025 Budget sets aside R$50.4 billion for amendments to Congress. Therefore, there are still R$24.4 billion left to be reserved and paid, but the Executive uses this amount to reduce the deficit in public accounts.
The amendments are of direct interest to deputies and senators. In 2026, an election year, congressmen are looking for works that they can present to voters – whether to seek re-election or support allies.
In total there are:
- R$ 26.0 billion pledged (a type of promise to pay);
- R$ 14.4 billion effectively paid (when the money actually arrives in the account).
This year’s amendments began to be released in June. The government says that the money took a long time to come out because the Annual Budget Law took a long time to be approved ().
Most of the amendments are mandatory, that is, with mandatory commitment until December. Payment, however, may be delayed if there is not enough time for everything to be released. They are called “remainder to pay”.
AMENDMENTS BY PARTY
The state benches and commissions have reserved R$8.8 billion so far, of which R$1.5 billion has been paid.
Of the parties, PL and PT are the ones with the most committed amendments: R$3 billion and R$2 billion, respectively. União Brasil and PSD appear next in this ranking.
COMMITMENT X PAYMENT
The commitment phase is different from the payment.
Commitment is the 1st stage in the execution of public expenditure. This is when the government formalizes that it will reserve a portion of the money available in the Budget for the project proposed by a deputy or senator.
After the commitment, the value is, in fact, reserved. It works as insurance from the authority that payment will be made. With this, the service indicated by an amendment can be contracted – with the expectation that payment will actually occur at some point.
After the commitment comes the settlement stage – when the government recognizes that the contracted service has been delivered – and, finally, the payment itself, with the release of the funds into the account of those who performed the service.
