FAS Homepage | Government Secrecy | Index | Join FAS


VIII. LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN THE ARGENTINE

The issue of the - " reserved expenses " - has motivated meaningful parliamentary interest in the last times. This is consequence of the confluence of several factors as the consolidation of the democracy in the country, the opening and transparency derived from the pos - cold war, the strong trends toward the restructuring from the intelligence systems from the democratic countries, the extent from the journalistic investigations, between other.

Yet existing political will to carry forward the necessary control over these expenditures, at present exist limitations to exercise it due to the lack of fulfillment of the outstanding legislation and of adequate mechanisms, of procedures and, in practice last resort of such task.

Already during the Government of the Dr. Alfonsín the topic of control of the secret expenses had been considered as matter legislable. In November of 1987, the then headline of the SIDE, Dr. Facundo Suárez, announced that through a project of law in elaboration stage, the executive branch would sponsor the creation of a special parliamentary commission of intelligence, and was asserting that would see positive the control of the intelligence expenses through legislative branch. 34

Having as objective that the secret expenses receive the treatment that brand the law, though agreed with what is particular from the function, the Deputy Raúl Baglini (m.c.) presented a project of law on the Legislative Treatment of - " Reserved Expenses " -, that confirmed then the Deputy Jesus Rodríguez, initiative that December date of 1993 and then reiterated by mid 1995.

Through said project, whose part dispositiva can be consulted in Normative Annex 4, is stipulated that the executive branch transmit to the Congress of the Nation, together with each project of law of annual national budget and each Investment Account, an annex of public character containing the assigned amounts or executed by jurisdiction in confidential expenses matter, reserved, secret, classified or of limited or restricted access, as well as an annex second, this last with safety classification, containing their/its/your/his detail, purpose, program and object of the expense. And this information would be studied by a special bicameral commission whose creation is envisaged in the project.

In various opportunities, though without success, legislating of the opposition have requested that the Budget Commission of the H. Deputies Chamber begin the treatment of the project of law before commented.

The impulse to establish specific regulation that regulated the intelligence area also envisaged the budgetary area. A project of law of National Intelligence with mean sanction of the Senate, 31 of August of 1994, (in base to the project of the Senator And. Cow - PJ - that in their/its/your/his step by the high Chamber included some changes proposed by the radical Senators Block) incorporated certain precisions over the control of the secret expense. In effect, in response to the initiative of the Radical Block, the approved text was widening the powers of the Bicameral Inspection Commission of the Organos and Interior Security Activities and Intelligence concerning the elaboration and inspection of the use of the budgetary credits of the National Information System and Intelligence. (to see Normative Annex 6.)

For considering to the project of law with mean sanction excessively concentrador and at the same time little innovative, radical deputies presented two alternative texts for their/its/your/his parliamentary discussion. One of them contains greater budgetary precisions, those which is summary below - the corresponding articles are transcribed in Normative Annex 7.

The procedures proposed intend that the Congress has of all the budgetary information on reserved funds that to the present the legislators do not have neither in the moment of the discussion of the budget, nor then, upon analyzing the balances of the annual exercises.

Through other clause is enabled to the Bicameral Commission to participate in the elaboration of the destined secret budget not only to the programs, but also to the intelligence activities and to their/its/your/his inspection, and compels to the executive branch to transmit not only the amounts but also the destinations and object of the expenses reserved in conformity with the project of the Deputy (m.c.) Baglini.

Past 10 of December of 1995 was defeated the term to try the project to law to National Intelligence with mean sanction of the Senate. The frivolous efforts accomplished to achieve that the Commission of Deputies Defense signed a dispatch only of the project of law of Intelligence that envisaged the insert of the alternatives proposed in the radical projects, deprives to the Argentina of counting, by the moment, on a norm approved by the Congress that regulate the intelligence area and that began the control of the reserved funds.

When in the last months the controversy on the reserved funds hoarded again the headlines of the newspapers, emerged new parliamentary proposals. Deputies of the Front Solidary Country have presented a project in the one which is proposed to abolish the outstanding legislation in the matter and to dispense the funds utilization reserved in all the areas of government (Normative Annex 8).

As far as he/she is concerned, the Deputy Jesus Rodríguez (U.C.R.) together with other pars, entered a project of law that establishes standards for the regulation of the reserved or secret expenses (to see Normative Annex 5.). In the first place is excluded to the legislative branch of the beneficiaries list of such funds, by considering it a technical interpretation mistake. Also it establishes that those shoulds be explicitados for each jurisdiction in the national budget. Specify that all the expenses in National public sector shoulds fulfil accounts surrender, with the only exceptions of the reserved expenditures y/o secret governed by the arrangement of facto 5.315/56 and the law 18.302, and of the payments by viáticos that accomplish the public officials outside of their/its/your/his place of residence. Furthermore it lifts the secret for all norm that is referred to said expenses.

With respect to the fulfillment of the outstanding regulation relevant to the information through the Investment Account, in April of 1995, through a note transmitted by the National Deputies Block of the UCR to the Revising Mixed Parliamentary Commission of Accounts, is outlined the impossibility of approving the Investment Account of 1993 for considering it incomplete to the not to appear detailed the corresponding amounts to the execution of the reserved expenses of the poder Ejecutivo35, said report yet it has not been approved by the General Audit of the Nation, it is hoped that the same would accomplish equal observation or that the radicalism I outlined it in the parliamentary area. [<A>]

Briefly, it understood the exceptional need of the reserved expenses stocks, the procedures and measures that are guided to permit that the executive branch as well as the Parliament control adequately the secret budget, coadyuvan to an indispensable sinceramiento of the same and that serves at the the end anticipated in the legislation.

Notes:

Return to the Index

To the Next Section




FAS Homepage | Government Secrecy | Index | Join FAS