The Joint Budget Committee approved the 2026 Budget Guidelines Law on Wednesday (3), requiring the government to pay 65% of parliamentary amendments before the electoral period. The text also authorizes the Executive to target the floor of the fiscal target to avoid expense freezes in an election year. The plenary vote is scheduled for Thursday (4).
The Joint Budget Committee (CMO) of the National Congress approved, on December 3, 2025, the 2026 LDO, setting guidelines for the preparation and execution of the Union Budget. The text requires the Lula government to execute 65% of individual and state caucus parliamentary amendments allocated to health by July 4, 2026, the start of the electoral period. This measure, negotiated with centro parties, is a concession from the Executive, which proposed 60%, while the centro sought 100% — a percentage the government threatened to veto for rigidifying budget management.
The rapporteur, Deputy Gervásio Maia (PSB-PB), highlighted the dialogue with the government: "It is a great advance. I thank Minister Gleisi Hoffmann very much for all the interaction, for all the construction, for all the dialogue". There is an informal agreement, brokered by Chamber President Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), to pay 50% of commission amendments for health by July, without inclusion in the law.
The text also authorizes the government to pursue the floor of the primary fiscal target surplus of 0.25% of GDP (R$ 34.3 billion), allowing an effective result of up to a R$ 23.3 billion deficit, avoiding larger expense freezes in case of revenue shortfalls. This change responds to a TCU alert, which deemed targeting the floor illegal when the law cites the center as reference. For state-owned companies, the target is a deficit of up to R$ 6.75 billion, plus R$ 5 billion in PAC investments, with possible revision to accommodate Correios restructuring.
Despite the approval, the committee included an addendum proposed by Luiz Carlos Motta (PL-SP) to retroactively adjust the party fund since 2016 under the fiscal framework rules, generating an extra cost of about R$ 160 million. Maia opposed it: "Increasing the party fund is not a priority. It is absurd". The dispute over amendments delayed the LDO by months, following 2025 conflicts over payment delays, with the government blaming the delay in Budget approval and parliamentarians accusing favoritism toward the allied base. In 2024, a similar calendar was vetoed and negotiated by decree.