Chamber approves in 1st round the second part of the PEC dos Precatórios

Last Tuesday (14), the Chamber of Deputies approved, in the first round, the basic text of the interventions made by the Senate in the text of the PEC dos Precatórios. There were 327 votes in favor and 147 against, and 1 abstention. There are still seven highlights to be analyzed and the vote in the second round.

Earlier, an ordinance was published in an extra edition of the Diário Oficial da União (DOU), signed by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, which changes the maximum date for the commitment of funds by the federal government. With this, until December 31 of this year, it will be possible to pay funds from the 2021 Budget, such as parliamentary amendments.

According to congressmen, this was an attempt by the Federal Government to obtain the necessary votes for the approval of this second part of the PEC dos Precatório.

Last Wednesday (8), parts of the PEC dos Precatório was promulgated in a joint ceremony with presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

PEC of Precatório

In general, the PEC opens fiscal space of R$ 108.4 billion in the 2022 Budget, aiming to accommodate the Brazil Aid. However, only R$ 64.9 billion of these resources are guaranteed with the promulgation of the common text approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The other parts changed or inserted by the Senate in the text need approval during the vote this Tuesday (14).

If the proposal is approved as it came from the Senate, the space opened by the PEC dos Precatórios will be distributed as follows:

• R$ 39.485 billion will be opened with the payment limit for court orders. These funds can be used for expenses related to social security, including the Auxílio Brasil income transfer program.
• R$ 4.08 billion will be opened with the precatório paid out of the limit. These resources have no restrictions on their use in the form of the Senate substitute.
• R$ 64.9 billion will be opened with the change in the calculation formula for updating the spending ceiling limits. This money can only be used for health, welfare and social assistance expenses, which also include the income program.

the vote

The Novo party and opposition deputies criticized the vote on the new PEC of the Precatório this afternoon. Authored by the Senate, the PEC 46/21 deals with issues that diverge from the amendment enacted last week: payment in installments of municipal social security debts; review of the spending ceiling; and new payment system for court orders, which are debts arising from lawsuits against the government.

Among the controversies is the sub-ceiling for the payment of the Union’s debts. The proposal provides for an annual limit for payment of court-ordered debts equivalent to the amount paid in 2016, adjusted for inflation for the period. In the original text of the Chamber, the term of validity of this sub-ceiling would be until 2036.

Deputy Gilson Marques (Novo-SC) stated that there was a “maneuver” to take the text directly to the Plenary, without going through the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission (CCJ) or a special commission. “We were not even able to present amendments to the PEC or to discuss in a regular way the points in disagreement with the Chamber that the Senate approved there”, he lamented.

Gilson Marques stated that the proposal does not bring “anything concrete” and criticized the creation of a permanent family basic income program by the government. “Which means that the politicians will take a part of the Brazilian’s income and decide who will receive it permanently, not to mention all the benefits already foreseen”, he said.

The opposition also claimed to be in favor of withdrawing the proposal from the agenda. “This debate has already been fought hard here in this House, and we denounced with all letters that this was the PEC of Calote and that there is no need to change the Constitution to create a social program for income transfer”, said Deputy Bira do Pindaré (PSB-MA).

Proposal defense

Deputy Darci de Matos (PSD-SC) rebutted the criticisms. He stated that it is urgent to approve the proposal this Tuesday (14). “We are currently voting on the part of the PEC dos Precatório that will guarantee resources to quench the hunger of millions of Brazilians and which will also guarantee resources for health and, above all, for social assistance”, he said.

Darci de Matos highlighted that court orders are “a problem at the table”, since the government’s judicial debts total nearly R$90 billion.

*With news camera agency