The Dominican Senate postponed its debates on the 2006 Budget until today’s session. This decision was made in spite of the fact that, according to Diario Libre, the bilateral commission that studied the new budget included eight senators, fully 25% of the Senate, all of whom signed the report that accepted the amendments submitted by the Executive Branch. Today’s session is expected to hear the full report and begin debates on the budget, which has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies. However, some senators are arguing that they need more time to study the budget, despite the fact that these same senators followed the process that included the addition of their own NGOs into the budget numbers. Senate leader Andres Bautista denied that the senators’ position was a form of blackmail, and he said that his colleagues have the right to review all the deals that will require their vote. Today’s session is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm.