The overall central government budget is too closely interconnected to only pass parts of it piecemeal, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday, urging opposition lawmakers to swiftly review the budget.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — which together hold a majority in the legislature — reportedly plan to transfer several budget bills, such as the TPass program or birth subsidies, to legislative committees for review, after the proposed general budget for this fiscal year had been put on hold.
Opposition legislators have said they are dissatisfied that the Executive Yuan did not “properly” adjust military and police pay.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan’s proposed general budget was formulated in accordance with its policy planning, taking into account all facets of the budget, Lee said.
Selectively agreeing to allow advance disbursement of parts of the budget for certain initiatives does not mean that the budget has undergone full deliberation, so it carries a high degree of uncertainty and moreover contravenes the principles of responsible politics, she said.
The Cabinet hopes the legislature considers these issues carefully and begins the budget review so that all policies that benefit the nation and Taiwanese can be implemented as scheduled, she said.
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