Antena 3 CNN Politics PM Ponta: I think doubling child benefits is good, yet it costs us a yearly 1.8 bln lei

PM Ponta: I think doubling child benefits is good, yet it costs us a yearly 1.8 bln lei

PM Ponta: I think doubling child benefits is good, yet it costs us a yearly 1.8 bln lei
20 Mai 2015   •   17:46

Premier Victor Ponta said on Wednesday that "from a strictly social-democratic viewpoint," doubling the child benefits seems a good thing, but he cautioned that the budget impact of such a measure is 1.8 billion lei annually, and those who proposed it didn't also indicate the funding sources, writes Agerpres.
 
"A vote was cast today in the Chamber of Deputies on the doubling of child benefits for all categories of children. We increased it for 600,000 children from disadvantaged families. (...) As a principle, I say this: we are a social-democratic party and the first to rejoice at such a measure. (...) We, the government, issued no opinion, because no one asked us to. We just did our duty and informed the President, and I will also inform the Chamber of Deputies today. From a social-democratic viewpoint it looks like a good thing to me and I endorse it wholeheartedly, but I'd like to make this point, that it costs us a yearly 1.8 billion lei. The bad part is that those who conceived the amendment didn't also tell us where to take the money from, as the Constitution requires (...). It will still be us left scrambling for the money," Ponta said in the weekly government sitting.

The Premier added that financing for such a measure can be ensured in 2015 and next year.

"This year, and the next we'll find [the money], but this means that they want only us to govern, we will definitely find it. I don't know where they'll get it from to keep the financing rolling, or where they'll proceed to cuts. Because they were really good at cutting funds," said the Prime Minister.

The Chamber of Deputies plenary passed on Wednesday an amendment proposed by Liberal MP Cristina Pocora, providing for the doubling of child benefit. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 98 to 77.

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