Cabinet approves budget bill

Cabinet approves budget bill

The cabinet yesterday approved the budget bill for the 2020 fiscal year and the formation of a 63-member special committee to vet it, said government deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek.

Ms Ratchada said the cabinet had appointed the finance minister, the deputy finance minister and the finance permanent secretary to sit on the panel and would soon name the remaining 12 representatives from its allotted quota.

According to Ms Ratchada, the 63-member budget bill examination panel will be made up of 15 representatives from the cabinet, 24 from from the opposition parties and another 24 from coalition parties.

The cabinet's deliberation of the 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill for fiscal 2020 was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but it was moved up to yesterday to leave more time for the legislators to review it.

The bill will be tabled before the House of Representatives for its first reading on Oct 17 which could take up to two or three days. The second and third readings are likely to take place in January.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday called on the public not to focus too much on figures because the amounts will be subject to revision during House scrutiny of the bill.

"The bill is a proposed spending plan which will be examined by the House. Changes, increments and cuts are up to the House committee," he said.

House Speaker Chuan Leekpai said copies of the budget bill would be immediately sent to lawmakers so give them more time to study it.

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