House Speaker Noah Idechong in a phone interview said that the hearings today will focus on the proposed budget for the Office of the President, Vice President and the ministries.
He said they will work to expedite the budget deliberation since it is already the middle of the year.Idechong said although the HOD is taking the lead in tackling the proposed budget, a joint hearing will be held today and in the coming days.“Both chairmans of the Senate and HOD Ways and Means will be working together to expedite the process,” Idechong said.He said the budget process will even be completed earlier if there is nothing controversial in the spending package.“The president’s budget is straight forward, it contains nothing out of the ordinary, “Idechong said. The budget proposal amounts to $60,287,987 but only a sum of $58,787,987 is appropriated.Idechong said that the hearings are aimed at getting clarifications on the budget.“Hopefully we can send it this week to the Senate,” Idechong added.The country is now operating under a continuing resolution, Toribiong said to ensure the immediate needs of the country for the remainder of 2009 fiscal year.The proposed financial package maintained the fund levels similar to the 2008 budget. The bill proposed appropriations of $34,104,286 for the operational and contingent expenses of the Executive Branch, while the Judicial Branch gets appropriation of $2,219,000 while the legislative branch gets $3,668,000.The bill also stated that the remaining balance in the amount of $2,380,431 of the Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) be reverted back to the National Treasury to defray the shortfall for FY 2009 local allocations.The bill also proposed appropriations of $2,782,558 to debt service; $1,546,000 to low-income household assistance; $500,000 for Compact Review fund, to finance the conduct of review and discussions regarding the Compact.
