Congressional committees are disputed

After the elections for the command of the Chamber and the Senate, deputies and senators dispute behind the scenes the presidencies of the permanent commissions of both legislative houses. At stake is control over political agendas and the allocation of billionaire funds.

There are clashes being fought between parties with ideological affinity and competition between those of opposing political spectrums, as in the case of the Chamber, where the PL, of former president Jair Bolsonaro, and the party federation led by the PT have the largest benches. While agreements are sewn, definitions can only be left for after carnival.

“Agenda power” is one of the main reasons for the dispute over presidencies. Commanding a commission allows you to prioritize allies with positions available to the collegiate, discuss which legislative proposals will or will not be discussed, and distribute reports on voted projects. In addition, there are other reasons that explain the more heated clash between these spaces at the beginning of this legislature, compared to the last two years.

One of the reasons is the fact that it is the first biennium after the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the disease, the presidents of the House and Senate concentrated many powers in their hands. Instead of going through the standing committees, many legislative proposals were sent directly to the plenary of both houses for consideration.

“The commissions are responsible for giving the final word to most of the proposals that are being processed in Congress and will be priority elements, including for provisional measures (MPs)”, comments political scientist Lucas Fernandes, coordinator of political analysis and sustainability at the BMJ Associate Consultants. “These are relevant spaces that will give political protagonism to, in addition to being able to pay for the agendas, to have a very important platform to establish the order of public hearings and agendas”, he adds.

The increase in amounts allocated to parliamentary amendments to permanent committees (RP8) is another reason that explains the competition for committees. The 2023 Budget foresees a total of BRL 7.6 billion in resources for this type of amendment. In 2022, its budget forecast was BRL 329 million. In 2021, there was no forecast. In 2020, there was a forecast of BRL 639 million.

This increase is explained by the agreement reached between the congressmen, still in the previous legislature, to redistribute R$ 19.4 billion in funds that would be destined to the rapporteur’s amendments (RP9), known as “secret budget”, which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) last year.

Of the BRL 7.6 billion provided for in the 2023 Budget for the RP8 amendments, BRL 6.5 billion are linked to the Senate’s Regional Development and Tourism Commission (CDR).

For this legislature, the committees themselves will have to be heard for the execution of these amendments, according to the new rite established by the text approved in the last Budgetary Guidelines Law (LDO).

House and Senate elections influence race for committees

There are 30 standing committees in the Chamber. Five of them were created this week, with the support of the re-elected president of the house, deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The Health commissions were approved by the deputies; of Economic Development; of communication; of Work; and the Amazon and the Original and Traditional Peoples.

Lira’s technical argument is that it would be a response to the creation of new ministries by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). However, the political discourse among parliamentarians, that Lira created new collegiate bodies to accommodate allies, is more convincing for some leaders.

In the Chamber, Lira’s re-election conditions increased competition for spaces. He was re-elected with broad parliamentary support, made up of almost all parties and party federations. “By the criterion of proportionality, the largest benches take the largest commissions, but since almost everyone is [os partidos] in the block, everyone is equal”, commented Fernandes.

In the case of the “blocão” that re-elected Lira, the analyst also considers that it is not just the largest bench that counts for the purposes of the distribution of spaces. “The question of the parties that supported the Lira first, such as the PL and the Republicans, is very important. There is also the fact that the PT federation has abdicated from launching a candidate to support it”, he highlights.

Due to the disputes, Chamber leaders claim that the distribution of commissions is being defined by agreements and that a definition can only occur after Carnival.

The competition for the 15 permanent collegiate seats in the Senate is also explained by the logic of the re-election of the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). As he won with a margin of just nine votes over Senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), parliamentarians and party leaders who supported him — including those who made the last-minute decision after offers from the Lula government — are using the conditions to bargain.

By agreement discussed during the campaign period for the presidency of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) would be reappointed to the command of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ). The power given by Pacheco to the ally bothered some senators, who are now collecting the bill and pressing against his re-election by commanding the collegiate. Some senators even suggest that this could happen.

Another disputed commission is that of Foreign Relations (CRE), which may remain with senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL). The collegiate is also coveted by Senator Daniella Ribeiro (PSD-PB), whose party can stay with the Transparency, Governance, Inspection and Control and Consumer Protection Commission (CTFC). The billionaire CDR, the one for Regional Development, is still in dispute and no agreement has been reached.

What to expect from committee battles in the House and Senate

The clashes waged by the commissions in Congress are still far from a definition. Currently, only a few are minimally aligned. In the Chamber, for example, the tendency is for the PT to take over the presidency of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) in 2023. The name chosen by the party to preside over the most coveted collegiate body in the House is federal deputy Rui Falcão (SP) , former president of the acronym.

Lira forwarded with leaders a rotating presidency agreement for the CCJ. In 2024, the idea is that the command stays with the PL. With the creation of five committees, the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro tries to capture between five and six collegiate bodies, in addition to the rapporteurship of the budget bill (PLOA) for 2024.

The Finance and Taxation (CFT), Mines and Energy (CME), Financial Inspection and Control (CFFC) and Health commissions are among those intended. The idea of ​​snapping up the CFT has behind it, for example, the intention of the PL to oppose the PT. The commission is the second most coveted for being responsible for analyzing the financial adequacy of the proposals that are processed in the Chamber.

The same goes for the CFFC, which carries out the accounting and financial supervision of the Union and entities of direct and indirect administration. The collegiate also receives from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) requests for the suspension of contracts made by the Union that contain some suspicion of irregularity and which are the responsibility of Congress.

It happens, however, that the PL is not the only one to aim for these posts. The PV, a party that integrates the federation led by the PT, and União Brasil also target the CFT. União Brasil maintains that it is entitled to three collegiate bodies and is interested in maintaining the command of CRE. The petistas, in turn, also aim for the CFFC.

Deputy Bacelar (PV-BA) confirms the party’s desire for the CFT and claims that the nomination referring to the party’s party federation is being built with “a lot of talk and a lot of understanding”. “We are going to work to have the CFT, but all the committees in the House are important and make any party great”, he says. Other collegiate bodies targeted by the PV are Environment, Education and Tourism.

In the Senate, the situation of the PL, PP and Republicans is more delicate than in the Chamber. All three parties supported Marinho and, for that reason, are unlikely to be assigned to relevant committees. In the order of proportionality, the PL, for example, will be the fifth to appoint a presidency and may have a smaller one.

Opposition senators maintain, however, that, among them, there is no desire to fight for spaces, so as not to run the risk of losing the votes. The intention is not to accumulate unnecessary defeats and seek positions strategically, through compositions and agreements.