The Finance and Taxation Commission made an agreement to skip the hearing for candidates for minister of the (Federal Court of Auditors), scheduled for this Monday (13). Instead of the traditional question and answer session, in which deputies can test the candidates’ knowledge, each of the seven party nominees will give a 10-minute speech.
The initial agreement provided that, after speaking, the committee members would have up to three minutes to take their positions. According to the president of the commission, Merlong Solano (-PI), the agreement was made before the start of the session between party leaders and candidates in order to speed up voting.
The leader of , deputy (RS), questioned the decision. Van Hattem argued that neither he nor Novo’s nominee, deputy Adriana Ventura (SP), participated in the agreement.
“It seems unreasonable to me that in a hearing that is intended to evaluate the suitability, reputation and CV of each of the panellists, nominated by the parties, that each parliamentarian is entitled to just one three-minute speech”, argued the leader, who is not a member of the commission.
“This is not exactly a hearing, what the CFT will do is a kind of admissibility to find out whether or not the candidates meet the constitutional requirements”, said deputy Rubens Pereira Junior (PT-MA).
Solano then said that he could increase the speech scheduled for deputies after the speeches by one minute, which will total four minutes. He stated that the session would be following the rules provided for by legislative decree no. 6, of 1993, but they are general and do not specify the rite of the session.
At the beginning of her speech, congresswoman Soraya Santos (-RJ), nominated by the PL, praised the leadership of the presidency and said that the rite is being fulfilled.
The first to speak was deputy Danilo Forte (PP-CE), nominated by the PSDB/Cidadania federation. His main campaign proposal is to strengthen Congress. Forte highlighted the fact that he was twice rapporteur of the LDO (Budget Guidelines Law), when he worked to increase the influence of parliamentarians over the public budget.
In 2014, he participated in the creation of the individual binding amendment, which he called “the first window to be able to guarantee Parliament’s autonomy”. In 2024, it created a payment schedule for the amendments.
Forte said that, in both cases, the “enemy” was the same: the PT government. In 2014, led by former president Dilma Rousseff; in 2024, by . “This is an affirmation of Parliament as an institution”, he concluded.
Even before the speeches, deputy Emanuel Pinheiro Neto (PSD-MT), rapporteur of the nominations of parliamentarians running for the position, instructed the commission to approve the seven nominations made by the parties.
This Monday, the movements for the TCU were not restricted to the commission. Throughout the day, the candidates and their assistants campaigned and distributed stickers and pamphlets, in addition to installing banners in the Chamber.
Candidates such as Adriana Ventura, Soraya Santos and Gilson Daniel, nominated by , placed banners near Annex 2, where the commission is located. The PL nominee also had people in uniform supporting her candidacy, who positioned themselves in places of passage and distributed leaflets.
The TCU’s role is to assist in monitoring and supervising Brazil’s budgetary and financial execution, exercising an external control function for the federal government.
According to the court’s website, the institution is responsible for the accounting, financial, budgetary, operational and patrimonial supervision of public bodies and entities in the country regarding legality, legitimacy and economicity.
The TCU is made up of nine ministers, six of which are appointed by Congress, one by the President of the Republic and two are chosen from among auditors and members of the Public Ministry that works alongside the TCU. Deliberations are taken collectively by all ministers or by one of the two Chambers, collegiate bodies in which ministers are divided.
The new vacancy was opened by the retirement of former deputy Aroldo Cedraz. Cedraz was nominated by the National Congress in 2006 and, at the time, the choice represented a defeat for the Lula government.
After analysis by the commission, the candidates will compete for Congress’ nomination in a secret vote in the plenary, scheduled for this Tuesday (14). The person elected must still be endorsed by the . The successful candidate will be able to hold the position until retirement, which is compulsory at age 75.
