RSS
Bill on 2021 state social security budget clears Parliament
The bill on the 2021 state social security budget cleared today the joint Parliament plenum by a vote of 254 to 128.
The bill was adopted in the form penned by the government, as all three amendments tabled by the lawmakers were rejected.
Prime Minister Florin Citu said that the 2021 budget is a good, balanced plan that compels reform, and underlined that the adoption of the budget bill without any amendment is proof of the unity of the governing coalition.
"It is a good, balanced budget, a budget whereby we start the reconstruction of Romania and this can be done only through reform and investments. That is why I spelled out right from the beginning the two elements we focused on in this budget - record high investments, half covered from European funds, and reform - the reform many politicians have been brandishing in the public space, but which they actually ran away from. The time has come to do it, and this budget compels reform. I've said it - if we don't want to do it ourselves, we will have to do it due to the budget," Citu said in Parliament after the adoption of the 2021 state budget bill and of the state security budget for this year.
The Premier thanked the coalition and national minorities' lawmakers for voting for the budget bill.
"These have been a couple of important days and I think it is also a first - a budget that clears Parliament with no amendment, showing very clearly that we are a united, strong coalition, prepared to resist all these four years, because we have a lot of work to do," the PM said.
PM Citu added that the 2021 budget dismantles the lies of the "PSD [the Social Democratic Party] socialists".
"I can't help but notice how the Socialists from PSD motivated their vote. They said everything, except for the real reason - that they were cut from the budget and they can't steal anymore. That was the only argument. Otherwise - they will cry out all year round. Otherwise - lies, lies and lies again," the prime minister said in the joint plenary sitting of Parliament.
The prime minister made it clear that the state social insurance budget also includes social assistance expenses and pension increases, telling the PSD representatives "to stop lying".
"The state social insurance budget has revenues worth 90.3 billion lei, 10 billion more than in 2020 and 20 billion lei more than in 2019, when you were in government. Expenditure is 90.2 billion lei, of which 89.24 billion lei - Social Assistance. How can they say no money goes to Social Assistance, (it is about) 89.24 billion lei. Let's take it by chapters: 87.47 billion lei - the actual expenditure on the public pension system, this year by 7.7 billion more. Why is that? Because pensions have increased. Stop lying. Pensions have increased in 2021, as well. So, 7.7 billion lei more, pensions have increased. 1.64 billion lei for social benefits, of which 1.44 million lei for funeral aid and 200 million for treatment tickets. You see, we also take care of people who have had less luck in life. 124 million lei for accidents at work or occupational diseases," Citu added.
He asserted that this budget also resolves the situation of the miners in the Jiului Valley.
"The unemployment insurance budget, built on total revenues of 4.68 billion lei, of which 3.38 billion for unemployment insurance and 1.3 billion for the Guarantee Fund for the payment of wage claims. This fund was used to deal with the situation of the miners in the Jiului Valley. We used it, the money we had, we solved the problem, which you carried and you kept for years and you didn't solve anything. We solved the Jiului Valley," Florin Citu told the PSD lawmakers.
The Prime Minister also maintained that higher amounts of the budget are paid for pensions, salaries and allowances, without increasing taxes, as the PSD government did.