Alcolumbre wants to guide PEC dos Precatórios in the CCJ of the Senate on the 24th

The president of the CCJ (Committee on Constitution and Justice) of the Senate, senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), said this Wednesday (10) that he intends to include the PEC dos Precatórios on the agenda of the session on the 24th of this month at the collegiate.

It was also decided that the rapporteur of the proposal in the commission will be the leader of the government in the Senate, Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE).

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Thursday night (9) in the second round of the PEC, a proposal that defaults on judicial debts of the Union.

The measure is a priority for the Executive to guarantee the payment of Brazil Aid of R$ 400 from December until the end of 2022, the year in which Bolsonaro is expected to run for re-election, in addition to making room for other federal expenditures. Under the proposal, around R$90 billion should be released for expenses next year.

The proposal faces resistance in the Senate, with House members pressing it not to go straight to the floor. They argue that it should initially proceed through the CCJ, which is the natural path for all Proposed Amendments to the Constitution — a path that had been made more flexible due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

After the CCJ meeting this morning, Alcolumbre briefly stated that he intends to include the matter on the agenda of the meeting that takes place during the legislative week from November 22nd to 26th.

“The President’s Wish [do Senado] Rodrigo Pacheco [PSD-MG] is that this proposal goes through the CCJ and then goes to the plenary. We have many matters that need to be deliberated by the commission, and this matter is extremely important for Brazil at the moment,” stated Alcolumbre.

We are trying to organize for the week from 22nd to 26th, which will be on Wednesday the 24th,” he said. Committee on Constitution and Justice”.

Alcolumbre will not chair the session next week, leaving the position to the commission’s vice president, Antonio Anastasia (PSD-MG)

The president of the CCJ also stated that he received demands from some senators to be rapporteur, but that he will wait for the return of Pacheco, who is traveling to participate in the COP, to decide.

After a meeting with Alcolumbre and senator Fernando Bezerra, it was decided that the government leader in the Senate would take over the rapporteurship. Also listed were Anastasia and Marcos Rogério (DEM-RO).

Initially, the government had been saying that it would like to see the Senate approved the PEC on Precatório on the 20th of this month. However, the date is considered impractical as the senators put pressure on the proposal to pass through the CCJ.

The vice president of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB) – who is presiding over the House in Pacheco’s absence – said that he personally does not agree with the definition of a date to vote on “a matter so fraught with doubts” .

Caution is shared with leaders from some of the main Senate benches.

The leader of the PSD, Nelsinho Trad (MS), mentions that the matter is sensitive and controversial, and therefore it needs to go through the CCJ. “As for the possibility of approval, it is uncertain, as the matter requires a quorum of qualified votes because it is a PEC”, he says.

Government leaders initially intended to start the proceedings at the CCJ next week, already considering that there may be delays in the commission.

“If you need to go through the CCJ, I think it’s unlikely that we’ll approve it until the 20th. Then you play for another week, you may have a request for a view. So we’re there on the 23rd to approve it and then this project will go to the plenary” , said Bezerra, leader of the government.

He says the government is working on the possibility of including the PEC vote in plenary later this month – when Pacheco scheduled a concentrated effort on November 30, December 1 and 2 for the ballot box.

“Then we will assess whether it is better to pass the plenary on the 23rd or vote on concentrated effort, because then you have a greater quorum”, he added.

Bezerra says that one of the main difficulties is the understanding on the part of the senators that the fiscal space that will be opened is excessive. During this period, the government intends to convince lawmakers that the resources will not give Planalto great power in an election year.

“We are very aware that when you demonstrate [aos senadores] the fiscal space of roughly R$91.3 billion that opens, R$50 billion goes to Auxílio Brasil, roughly R$25 billion goes to the correction of mandatory expenses. So we have R$75 billion,” he said.

“When you correct the ceiling, you also correct the numbers for education and health, so that’s another R$ 8 billion to R$ 10 billion. So these R$ 7 billion, in fact, may reinforce investment items”, he added.