Despite President Mejia?s plea for austerity from taxpaying Dominicans, the Senate dedicated many hours yesterday to the approval of 47 pensions. El Caribe points out that of the 47 pensions, only 15 are within the range of RD$4,000 to RD$5,000, with the rest going from RD$8,000 to RD$25,000 a month. This adds an additional RD$4.5 million to the government payroll for no services provided.