find out about the federal government’s aid measures for RS

Congress will also speed up the processing of the release of resources from the amendments. Actions aim to mitigate the impact of rain

A series of measures from both the federal government and Congress have been adopted as a way of mitigating the damage caused by the rains in Rio Grande do Sul. Among these measures are the approval of a calamity decree to facilitate the sending of resources to the state, the allocation of R$1.06 billion in parliamentary amendments and the implementation of direct actions to assist affected residents, such as the suspension of debt collection and the release of FGTS withdrawals.

The Attorney General’s Office of the National Treasury (PGFN) announced the suspension for 90 days of the collection of installments of debts renegotiated by state taxpayers, for those who have disputes with the Union. The measure is applicable to people, companies and municipalities in the state. The information is from the newspaper The globe.

In addition to the PGFN, the Federal Revenue announced measures to financially assist those affected by the floods in the state, extending the Income Tax payment deadline for taxpayers in 336 cities in Rio Grande do Sul, including the capital, Porto Alegre. Installments due in April, May and June were postponed to July, August and September, respectively.

Caixa Econômica Federal released withdrawals from the FGTS (Service Time Guarantee Fund) for those affected by the floods, totaling more than 1.3 million people. In a similar initiative, the Ministry of Social Development brought forward Bolsa Família for residents of affected municipalities, allowing them to withdraw the amount on the first day of payment, on May 17th.

In the coming days, approximately R$1.06 billion in parliamentary amendments will be released to the municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul affected by the floods. As announced by the government, R$580 million has already been sent, and the other R$480 million will be disbursed after a modification to the Budget Guidelines Law (LDO), as declared by the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha.

Find out how to help flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul

The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, also anticipated that there is an expectation of releasing an additional R$83 million in bench amendments for the portfolio at the beginning of this week.

“In Health alone, we released around R$614 million in payments for individual and bench amendments at this meeting. We will not run out of money needed so that every brick that was washed away by the rain can be replaced. Every bridge, every street, every school, every health unit, every house that the rain washed away, we have to find a way to rebuild”, stated Paulo Pimenta, minister of the Presidency’s Communication Secretariat.

Parliamentary amendments represent the legal instrument through which deputies and senators direct resources to their electoral bases. Individual amendments are resources allocated individually by members of Congress.