Secretariat employees sorting documents of the draft federal budget for 2008-2010
Photo: ITAR-TASS
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Just Russia Refuses to Vote for the Budget
The 32 members of the Just Russia – Fatherland (People's Patriotic Union) faction in the State Duma announced after a discussion of the 2008-2010 budget with Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin that they would not vote for the budget because it did not raise salaries, benefits and pensions sufficiently. United Russia, that is, the majority, is supporting the budget, so it will pass any way.
Faction leader Alexander Babakov stated that the budget did not correspond to the real level of the economy. The budget foresees a 65-percent raise in pensions across the three years, which, Babakov said, does not guarantee pensioners the minimum cost of living.
Babkov also said that the faction did not understand the ministry and government's change in position on the use of the stabilization fund. Kudrin explained the use of the stabilization fund, but refused to make any promises of large increases in budget expenses. Practically the only thing he agreed to was a discussion of student stipends during the second reading of the budget. The faction was not moved by Kudrin to vote for the budget on May 25. Babakov said the faction members would abstain from voting.
At a joint meeting of the supreme council and general council of United Russia, MPs also had criticism for the finance minister, saying that the minimum wage was growing too slowly. Kudrin replied that the minimum wage was to rise to 3000 rubles per month in 2008 and to 5238 rubles, that is, the minimum cost of living, by 2011. Kudrin added that a ten-year budget plan would be instituted in 2008.
www.kommersant.ru
All the Article in Russian as of May 23, 2007
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