Vice President Rafael Alburquerque has revealed that the government has not yet decided to discontinue the subsidy on the price of propane gas. He said that any protests are premature. He said that the final word on the matter would be had by President Leonel Fernandez, who is currently on a trip to the US. El Caribe reported that in the 2005 budget the government allotted US$1.65 billion in subsidies for 2005, of which from January to April US$1.22 billion have been paid. President Fernandez is scheduled to receive an honorary degree at the University of Massachusetts and will be in New Hampshire to attend an evening reception hosted by the Governor of New Hampshire as well as State Representative Carlos Gonzalez who is the only Dominican-American elected official in the state of New Hampshire.