Senate claims compliance in amendment indications and asks STF for release

The Federal Senate requested the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to release the committee amendments destined for the House, which total R$2.5 billion. In a statement presented this Monday, the 30th, Senate lawyers stated that the transparency requirements were met, arguing that the commitments be formalized before the deadline, this Tuesday, the 31st.

The petition highlights that “the Federal Senate observed the procedure provided for in accordance with current regulations for the implementation of the aforementioned committee amendments”. Furthermore, it emphasizes that any technical issues or discretion of the Executive should not prevent the release of amounts.

The request comes in response to questions made by Minister Flávio Dino, of the STF, who opened a ten-day period for the Senate to explain the indication of the amendments, following a complaint from the Chamber of Deputies. According to Dino, the procedure seeks to guarantee the contradiction and comprehensive analysis of the accusations raised by the Chamber.

The Chamber had claimed that there was “strangeness” when seeing its amendments suspended, while the Senate, which would have followed a “strictly identical procedure”, was not initially included in the decision. “Such commands and prohibitions refer to the ‘committee amendments’ of the Chamber of Deputies and also, from now on, of the Federal Senate”, stated Dino last Sunday, 29.

In the same decision, Dino authorized the partial execution of the blocked funds and highlighted that the inclusion of the Senate in the process occurred after the Chamber attached documents proving that senator leaders also requested the release of amendments under suspicion. The minister stressed the need for uniformity in the analysis.

The Senate argued that, in each amendment request, the respective responsible senator was identified, even if only party leaders are mentioned in the documents. The petition also questions the application of Complementary Law 210/2024 on the 2024 budget, asking that its implementation be considered valid only from 2025 onwards.

The case has generated tension between the two legislative Houses. Allies of the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, interpret that the Federal Police (PF) investigation opened by order of Dino to investigate alleged irregularities in the commission amendments targets Lira himself, who is leaving office.

However, Dino justified that, initially, his action was limited to the Chamber due to the information sent to the STF, but emphasized that all parties involved would be heard.