The State Duma considered several socially oriented bills at once

The State Duma on Tuesday considered several socially oriented bills. In particular, deputies clarified the requirements for recipients of maternity capital, increased payments for citizens raising minor great-grandchildren, and also indexed pensions for all non-working pensioners and separately for military personnel. The issue of indexation of pensions for working pensioners, often discussed by the opposition, was this time raised by United Russia member Andrei Isaev, proposing that the government pay attention to this problem. While the Cabinet of Ministers did not respond, the Duma majority rejected another relevant bill – this time from the Liberal Democratic Party.

The “Social Day” in the Duma began with speeches from factions at the beginning of the meeting: Deputy Head of the United Russia (UR) faction Andrei Isaev asked the government to return to the issue of annual indexation of pensions for working pensioners. It has been suspended since 2016, and since then representatives of the Duma opposition have regularly proposed its return: they have introduced relevant bills and even tried to appeal to the Constitutional Court. Another such project, this time from the Liberal Democratic Party, was on the agenda of the meeting on November 14, but when it came to its turn, member of the Duma Labor Committee Svetlana Bessarab (ER) suggested “rejecting it and continuing to work with the government to resolve this issue.” . The parliamentary majority agreed with her.

But another LDPR initiative was approved in the first reading, which seems to have surprised even its authors. One of them, Yaroslav Nilov, presenting the bill, admitted: “It doesn’t often happen when our legislative initiatives are reported from this rostrum, which are supported by the government and recommended by the committee for adoption.”

According to the project, from January 1, 2024 maternal capital will be paid only to persons who had Russian citizenship at the time of the child’s birth, and only if the child is a Russian by birth.

This procedure will not affect residents of new regions: they will have the right to maternity capital regardless of the basis and timing of their acquisition of Russian citizenship.

Justifying the importance of the amendments, Mr. Nilov gave the following example: “A family arrives, receives Russian citizenship, and today this family, having children born in another state, even having citizenship of another state, applies for maternity capital funds, using other measures of social support, which seems unfair. Because the ideology embedded in the maternity capital program was completely different. Thus, it is proposed to eliminate this loophole.” The project was supported by 402 deputies.

In the first reading it was adopted and bill deputies from United Russia and senators on the establishment of an increased fixed payment to the insurance pension for great-grandparents who are guardians of great-grandchildren.

Co-author of the amendments, Nadezhda Shkolkina, said that the reason for the initiative was the story of a 69-year-old resident of the Tula region, who, as the guardian of two minor great-grandchildren, was unable to receive an increased pension, since it is only due to grandparents. “Apparently, when such a norm of law was adopted, no one thought that in our country, great-grandparents and great-grandfathers would become so younger,” reasoned Mrs. Shkolkina. According to her, government support was not achieved immediately. According to the deputy, after the adoption of the amendments, 551 great-grandchildren will receive an additional payment in the amount of 2,638 rubles, which will be a “good help” for such families. The bill was approved by 406 votes.

Two government initiatives, also concerning pensioners, were approved without discussion in the second and third readings. For the first on increasing insurance pensions non-working pensioners by 7.5%, 406 deputies voted. The second project provides for an increase of 4.5% pensions for military pensioners and persons equivalent to them – those who served in the internal affairs bodies, the penal system, the National Guard, etc. The amendments were supported by 338 deputies with two abstentions.

Finally, in the second and third readings the bill of a group of deputies of all factions and senators was adopted about insurance payments to all the actual educators of the soldiers who died during the SVO.

Now only relatives who lost their loved ones during the SVO after July 14, 2022 can count on state support, and the new initiative equalizes the rights of all actual educators. 405 deputies voted for the bill.

Ksenia Veretennikova