House debates draft budget for 2nd day
13-01-2020 10:34 AM
Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - For the second day in a row, the Lower House debated the 2020 draft state budget law and the budgets of government units in a session attended by cabinet members.
The first to take the floor during the morning session was Deputy Mazen Al Qadi of the Modernity Bloc, who urged the legislature to pass an "exceptional budget" that identifies with the current challenges, including a rising public debt.
He called for putting strategic national plans to stop the "bleeding that affected all aspects of life."
Other lawmakers urged the government to reduce the sales tax on basic items and address public sector and pension wages, and linking pay hikes with inflation.
One deputy said internal and external economic and political challenges are the result of the failure of successive governments to achieve economic reforms, which led to alarming imbalances in the budget deficit that accumulated debt and interest and threatened economic stability.