The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) move to divide this year’s fiscal budget into multiple packages for review and block the military spending items is unconstitutional, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said yesterday.
The KMT plans to approve funds earmarked for the T-Pass frequent rider program, flood management-related construction projects, newborn assistance programs and other plans affecting people’s daily lives, while stalling large portions of the budget, DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said.
The KMT is blocking NT$78 billion (US$2.47 billion) earmarked for the Ministry of National Defense’s arms procurement and projects to enhance national security, as the party is treating budget items as a “self-serve cafeteria,” Chung said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Funds for the general budget come from taxpayers as their obligation to the state, but the opposition parties are treating the budget as if they are paying for it,” he said.
“They are acting like despot emperors and treating people like beggars,” he said. “They would only review the budget when people make noise, demanding the use of state funds to improve their livelihood.”
“The KMT’s plan is unconstitutional. It also contravenes the Budget Act [預算法], which stipulates that the Cabinet compiles the year’s general fiscal budget and presents it to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation and review. The legislature may not propose to increase government spending,” Chung said.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) criticized the opposition parties’ plan to approve only parts of the budget saying that “when a car brakes down, you cannot just go to a repair shop and only change the tires.”
“You should fix or replace all the broken parts,” she said.
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