Brazil Still Short of Votes for Key Pension Reform Bill, VP Says
- VP Mourao says 250 lower house lawmakers support pension bill
- Pension reform needs backing from 308 deputies to pass
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Brazil’s new government is still short of the number of votes it needs to get its flagship austerity bill approved in the lower house, according to Vice President Hamilton Mourao.
Some 250 lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies currently back a constitutional amendment to cut pension outlays, below the 308 needed to secure passage, Mourao told reporters in Brasilia on Tuesday. About 150 opposition lawmakers are against the proposal, while the government will have to negotiate support from 60 or 70 others, he said.