TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet and opposition legislators agreed on the government budget on Thursday (Nov. 7) and will submit spending bills to the committee stage on Friday.
The agreement will likely break more than a month-long legislative impasse over the bills, which were voted down by opposition legislators six times since they were introduced in September. The deal was reached following a meeting between Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Cabinet officials, and members of opposition parties earlier on Thursday, per CNA.
After the meeting DPP, KMT, and TPP representatives presented the agreement at a press conference.
Cho said the Cabinet has agreed to increase spending by NT$4.2 billion (US$130 million) under Article 91 of the Budget Act and Article 5 of the Fiscal Discipline Act. Funding the opposition lawmakers' demands in this way provides a workaround to an article in the Constitution that states the legislature can not propose spending increases in budgets prepared by the Cabinet.
Part of the additional funds will pay for increased compensation required by amendments to the Logging Ban Compensation for Lands Reserved for Indigenous Peoples Act passed in June. Compensation will double from NT$30,000 per hectare to NT$60,000 per hectare annually, the Cabinet said.
The Cabinet also agreed to adjust the value of points allocated by the National Health Insurance Administration used to reimburse healthcare facilities for providing services. The Cabinet will also announce a new pricing plan for the public purchase of grains before the end of the year.
KMT caucus leader Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) said the agreement ended more than a month of attacks between the government and the opposition. He said Thursday’s agreement was reached “openly and honestly,” and that the KMT caucus will support the submission of the budget bills to the Procedure Committee.
DPP caucus leader Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said all parties were open-minded and positive at the meeting. He said it is reasonable for those who represent public opinion to strive for budgetary changes, but must be done according to the Constitution.
