08.12.201716:03:00UTC+00BRAZIL: House To Vote Pension Reform On Dec 18, Says Congressional Leader

The vote on the pension reform bill in the Brazilian House of Representatives should occur on December 18, said the ruling coalition speaker Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB) after a dinner with President Michel Temer on Thursday, reported the official news agency, Ag?ncia Brasil.

Ribeiro was responsible for gauging the preliminary scoreboard for the reform. According to him, if the bill passes the first-round vote, the second round would occur before the parliamentary recess, which begins on December 23. A Senate vote on the pension reform bill would come only in 2018.

The lawmaker said that the decision to postpone the vote was made by "prudence," aiming at consolidating enough support to pass the bill. Ribeiro stressed that in the coming days the government and its allies should intensify the work of convincing the representatives to approve the reform, "demystifying" doubts and criticism to the controversial bill.

Commenting on the release of funds and other requests to convince lawmakers to vote for the reform, Ribeiro said that budget execution is part of the calendar. "[There is a] conjunction [of factors], precisely from the perspective of being able to approve pension reform, because if we do not approve, nobody should think that we would have the resources to face investments in the country," he said.