The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the liberal Andrés Calle, warned that healthcare reform will be voted on in a bloc format and that, if necessary, a session will be held from Monday to Saturday, in order to move forward as quickly as possible in the discussion on the second debate, and also to unblocking the legislative agenda.
Also read: They suspend health reform debate again due to lack of quorum
“In a bill with more than 160 articles. Well, the approval has to be en bloc. We are looking for a method that will align us with those who have doubts about some controversial articles, but we must find a way to form small blocs so that the discussion becomes clearer,” the government representative said.
In addition, he says that the plenary meeting will take place from Monday to Saturday if necessary, given the delays that have occurred: “We are prepared to do it this way, that is what they pay us for. Next week we will meet from Monday until necessary because Congress must meet in that debate that the Colombians are waiting for.”
He added that “what the country asks of us is to unblock the legislative agenda. There are other projects from the government, the congressmen and the various branches of power. Our commitment is to promote this and if we need to meet to do that, Monday to Saturday, we will do so.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Catherine Juvinao of the Green Alliancetold Semana Magazine that block voting prevents in-depth deliberation.
“The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Andrés Calle, He had promised us that when the core articles of the reform arrived, the most delicate articles, which require more guarantees in the debate, precisely because of their complexity and scope, they would be discussed in depth, but surprisingly that word was broken. What they tried to do was put into a block of ten articles with extremely critical topics. We have been resisting all this time because they want to kick the reform into our heads, but we will continue to fight,” the independent lawmaker wondered.
Source: El Heraldo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
