It is a substantive modification, brought by the LR group in the Senate, and which aims to reward “
the value of work
”.
During the examination of the 2022 amending budget, which must be completed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the elected representatives of the upper house will consider an amendment proposed by the rapporteur for the Finance Committee, Jean-François Husson, aimed at reshaping an aid desired by the executive.
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Presented at the beginning of July and financed by the amending budget,
the "exceptional aid
" for the start of the school year aims to provide 100 euros to some 7.7 million households - or 15 million people, according to the Senate - receiving social minima such as the RSA, AAH or scholarship students.
This aid, formerly presented as a “
food voucher
”, would be increased by 50 euros per dependent child.
Overall cost: around one billion euros, according to the government.
But this initial government proposal could well be modified by the Senate.
In his report on behalf of the Finance Committee, Jean-François Husson expresses a mixed opinion on this device, which “
follows the inflation allowance
”.
However, the latter "
was characterized by a lack of targeting [...], massive threshold effects, extremely high cost [...] and implementation relying largely on companies, including this n is not the vocation, with the risk of duplication and fraud
".
Pointing to the difficulties encountered during the deployment of the allowance, Senator LR underlines that the exceptional back-to-school aid would be "
the fourth one-off allowance paid to low-income households since the spring of 2020
".
A costly assessment, with
contested “
social efficiency ”.
Rather than aid deemed too broad and ineffective, the rapporteur therefore suggests “
concentrating the budgetary effort on supporting the purchasing power of workers, who are currently excluded from the proposed system
”.
Amendment 191 thus proposes to "
replace the exceptional back-to-school aid [...] with one-off aid of 150 euros paid to beneficiaries of the activity bonus
".
A way to encourage work
This modification should make it possible to avoid multiplying checks which risk reinforcing a "
habituation to the use of public expenditure
", argues the elected representative, who is worried about a "
dangerous precedent for the conduct of budgetary policy in the months and years to come
.
In addition, increasing the activity bonus should make it possible to promote work, an idea dear to the parliamentary right, while the social minima have already been revalued within the framework of the examination of the Purchasing power bill, which must end on Wednesday, explains Jean-François Husson to
Parisian.
According to the senator, this reinforcement of the activity bonus would be spread over three months, up to 50 euros per month, and would concern just under 4.5 million households.
It would also save 250 million euros compared to the aid formulated by the executive.
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At the same time, a sub-amendment - 543 bis - presented by the right offers an alternative, replacing the exceptional aid with "one
-off aid of 150 euros paid to beneficiaries of the activity bonus and the disabled adult allowance
(AAH).
“
The value of work must be encouraged.
However, the case of disabled people, who encounter more difficulties in integrating into the world of work, deserves special treatment
, ”specify the LR senators, including Bruno Retailleau, in the explanatory memorandum.
This track received a wise opinion from the Finance Committee, which therefore leaves it up to each elected official to take a position.
It remains to be seen whether the Senate, with an LR majority, will validate this substantive modification on aid which concerns several million households.
The amendment being carried by the Finance Committee, a "
positive a priori
" is noted by a senatorial source.
The executive, meanwhile, is holding back with four irons: questioned, the cabinet of Bruno Le Maire specifies that the government will formulate an unfavorable opinion on these modifications, recalling that the initial version of the aid will already be paid to the beneficiaries of the AAH.
"
The amendment leads to the exclusion of 4 million poor households from the benefit of back-to-school aid
“, we also advance.
Even if adopted by the Senate, the new version of the text will in any case probably have to be reviewed by a joint committee, and could be modified again by parliamentarians.
Case to follow.
