State budget draft law passed by parliamentary commissions

The two budget-finance commissions on Sunday morning, after an 18-hour long debate, passed the draft law of the state budget for 2010 by a vote of 28 and the social security budget by a vote of 39.

Initially the social security budget had been rejected.

Voting was resumed as, if the budget in question had been sent to the plenum as rejected, the social security budget for last year would have stayed in force, with a lower pension for pensioners, a fact that made deputies and senators resume voting on this budget about 3:30 am, Romania's time, after heated debates among the members of the two commissions.

Agerpres