Government wants to use Dpvat to pay for R$ 5.6 billion in vetoed amendments

The government wants to use the approval of PL (Bill) 2,261 of 2023, which resumes Dpvat (Personal Injury by Land Motor Vehicles) insurance, to reach an agreement on the Congress session that will analyze Lula’s vetoes. The session is scheduled for May 9th. The Executive intends to use the R$15 billion credit included in the text to cover the R$5.6 billion vetoed in amendments to the 2024 Budget.

On April 9, when the Dpvat PL was approved in the Chamber, deputies included at the last minute an excerpt that changes the fiscal framework and allows an increase in spending established in the Budget. Planalto wants to use R$3.6 billion of the amount: R$2.4 billion to deputies and R$ 1.2 billion for senators.

In a conversation with journalists on Thursday (April 25), the rapporteur of the proposal and leader of the Government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), reinforced that the inclusion of the credit would be to cover the payment of the amendments.

“In the Dpvat project itself, the location of this money was placed [emendas]. If it doesn’t happen, we vote and the government will have to block it, respecting the fiscal responsibility law. After the agreement has been made, how do you legalize this agreement? I have to put it in the Budget. This is the reason for coming to Dpvat”declared the senator.

STF DECISION MAY HAVE DIFFICULT AGREEMENT

The Executive awaits approval from Dpvat to close an agreement on the veto session. However, the decision by STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Cristiano Zanin to suspend the exemption for 17 sectors of the economy and municipalities should make the agreement difficult. He responded to part of a request made by the Lula government through the AGU (Advocacia Geral da União). The trial is halted after a request for review (more time for analysis) from Minister Luiz Fux, who has 90 days to return the text for judgment.

On Friday (April 26), the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), filed an appeal in which he asked the Supreme Court to revoke the act. The progress of priority matters for the government in Congress, such as the Dpvat, should only take place after the Court’s response to Pacheco’s request.

Still on Friday, Pacheco met with legal consultants at the Senate’s official residence. The leader of União Brasil in Casa Alta, Efraim Filho (PB), was also present. Efraim is the author of PL 334 of 2023, which extended the tax exemption policy for another 4 years.

“The Senate will appeal the decision and, from there, see what dialogues can take place on these future matters”, Efraim told journalists. The senator declared, however, that “you cannot link an action or reaction” from the Court’s act and that caution is needed.

Ephraim also said that the “government has had challenges at its own base [de apoio no Congresso] to approve certain themes and agendas”. She further stated that “it is unquestionable that the role of the presidents of the Chamber and the Senate has been decisive at the time of coordination because the government has not been able to impose a majority”.

MEETING NEXT WEEK

Pacheco said he will hold a meeting the week of April 29 with Senate leaders, but did not set a date. According to the Power360the president of the Upper House insists that all leaders attend the meeting, even remotely, as many congressmen are in their states because of the May 1st holiday, which falls on Wednesday.

At the meeting, the senators will discuss the reaction that the Upper House will adopt in the face of the overturning of the exemptions by the STF. The presidential veto analysis session should also be discussed.

Congressmen assess that the government has not complied with agreements made in the Legislature and, at the same time, expects cooperation from Congress on issues considered priorities.