Brasília and São Paulo, 25 – The technical area of the Federal Audit Court (TCU) recommended the shelving of a proposal so that the floors provided for in the Constitution – of minimum application of resources in the areas of Health and Education – are not considered in 2023.
The denial from the technical area increases the impasse for the teams of ministers Fernando Haddad (Finance) and Simone Tebet (Planning) with the return of the floors, after the end of the old spending ceiling and the sanction of the new fiscal framework.
The new rule automatically revoked the ceiling created under the Michel Temer (MDB) government, which suspended the correction of floors linked to government revenue.
As the Estadão report showed, to meet the “full” Health minimum, the government would have to increase expenses in this year’s Budget by up to R$20 billion. This risk, however, was ignored by the economic team in the bimonthly revenue and expenditure assessment report, released last week.
At the time, the Federal Budget Secretary, Paulo Bijos, claimed that the decision not to include these expenses is due to uncertainty regarding the amount that will be considered, as there is a discussion on the topic in the National Congress that would imply a smaller increase. of these expenses, in the order of R$5 billion.
The representation to the Court was made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the TCU, Lucas Furtado, who alleged the risk of “shutdown” (stoppage of the administrative machinery) in 2023 – a possibility that had already been raised by Simone Tebet. The technical opinion was forwarded to the rapporteur, minister Augusto Nardes, who can take the issue to the plenary.
In the appeal, the MP’s attorney requests that, upon confirming the risk of administrative blackout, with the application of the floors this year, the TCU should authorize the continued application of the spending ceiling until the end of the current year.
“I don’t see why imposing greater losses on society considering that any changes should result in improvements. Therefore, in my opinion, the extension of the deadline for these areas appears to be justifiable”, states the prosecutor in the representation that was not accepted by the technical area .
The TCU’s technical unit says it found no evidence of an “inescapable trajectory” towards the paralysis of public services. It also states that “government managers have instruments to meet the constitutional and legal requirements applicable to the management of public finances and budgets”
No exam
In practice, the auditors refused to examine the issue, because the type of process is wrong and because it was not requested by those who could request the license to release compliance with the floors this year – which should be the government itself. With the auditors’ refusal, the economic team will need to make extra efforts to obtain authorization from the TCU.
In July, Haddad had a meeting with the president of the court, Bruno Dantas, to discuss the issue. Dantas recommended that the government formally consult the court of accounts, which did not happen – causing the government to waste time.
Risk
For the government, the risk for public accounts increases, because the closer it gets to the end of the year, the more drastic the blocking of spending will need to be to make the Health floor viable, which is where resources are lacking.
The rapporteur of the project that deals with the federal government’s compensation to states and municipalities with ICMS losses, deputy Zeca Dirceu (PR), included a device that would reduce the impact to R$5 billion, but not even this amount was accounted for in the bimonthly report of government revenues and expenses, which restricted the size of the blockade made by the government to R$588 million.
To interlocutors, Haddad argues that the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) of the Transition, approved last year, provided for the new fiscal framework, the framework, to be forwarded by August. Counting on a period of three to four months for processing, the government and Congress expected approval only at the end of the year, in December, with the 2024 Budget. In other words, there would be no risk of resuming the floors in 2023.
The Union is still evaluating whether it will consult the collegiate
The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, said this Monday, the 25th, that the government has not yet decided whether it will carry out a prior consultation with the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) on the application this year of the floors for Health and Education spending.
It has become an impasse as it forces the government to block resources in the budget. The closer to the end of the year, the more drastic the contingency will have to be. The TCU’s technical area recommends that the government observe the minimum standards this year.
According to Tebet, who participated in an FGV event, this recommendation was an internal opinion from the TCU, and not a response to a question from the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for carrying out prior consultation.
The government, she said, will evaluate whether it will consult the TCU or whether it will wait for a vote on a bill on the subject, which is in Congress. “This discussion has not yet been had,” said Tebet.
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