To the surprise of many, the Congress and government officials announced yesterday a consensus on the national budget for 1999. With the many political battles now underway between the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) and Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), few expected an accord to be reached only one week after the PRD-controlled Congress created a bicameral committee to examine PLD-controlled Executive Branch’s budget proposal. In fact, many interested parties in the outcome of budget negotiations – mayors, economic sectors, etc. – were only just gearing up to lobby Congress on the proposal this week. Chamber of Deputies President Héctor Rafael Peguero Méndez (PRD) says that the accord reached by the bicameral congressional committee with the Administration’s National Planning Office (ONAPLAN) and Budget Office accounts for 95% of the budget proposal. Senate President Ramón Alburquerque (PRD) promised to have the Senate debate the bill just as soon as it arrives from the Chamber of Deputies, which constitutionally must initiate a budget bill. Toward this end Peguero Méndez has called a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies for this Thursday to begin debate toward the bill’s passage. Under the deal reached between the Senate-Deputies joint committee and ONAPLAN and the government’s Budget Office, the following entities will receive more money than originally contemplated in the government’s budget proposal: RD$30 million more to the Judicial Branch (12.4% more than in 1998, but RD$320 million less than the Supreme Court had asked for), RD$20 million more to the Chamber of Deputies, RD$10 million more to the Senate. Although the Judicial Branch did not get the increase it was looking for, the Fernández Government pledged to use some of its own funds to complete the works (particularly buildings) foreseen in the project to modernize the Dominican justice system. The government also agreed to use funds assigned to the Ministry of Public Health to further work on the Plaza de la Salud. The Central Election Board (JCE) will receive no more than already foreseen in the Administration’s budget proposal, even though the JCE said last week that without more funds it could not complete issuance of the new identity cards ("cedulas") and prepare for the presidential elections in the year 2000.
