PSD submits two projects regarding elimination of CASS payments for mothers and war veterans

The interim chaiman of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, announced on Monday that the Social Democrats will submit two bills eliminating the obligation to pay the social health insurance contribution (CASS) for mothers on parental leave, for former political prisoners, for veterans and for monastic personnel.

"Together with my colleagues from the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, we are submitting two bills today that refer to correcting some things from package 1, namely the CASS for pensioners, political prisoners, veterans, the disabled, war widows, monastic personnel and also the child-raising allowance, which is addressed to mothers. There are two bills that my colleagues - both from the Senate and the Chamber - have worked on. For us, all these things, being a left-wing party in a right-wing coalition, these things are important. These are things that we also said when package 1 of measures was adopted. We supported these things in the coalition to be corrected now, when we talk about package 2, not having been adopted and not being accepted by the rest of our colleagues, we understand not to give up, to make these projects "...of the law, which are the remedial projects, from our point of view, for certain excesses that were part of this package," Grindeanu said at the Palace of Parliament.

PSD Senator Victoria Stoiciu explained that the first bill is to amend the Fiscal Code and the Health Law.

"Basically, we are returning to the situation before package 1 of measures, in which mothers on parental leave were exempt from paying the health contribution. We consider it an absolutely necessary measure and a redress for an injustice that was done to women, in the conditions in which we are talking about people in a situation of economic vulnerability and health status and in the conditions in which Romania is facing a major birth rate problem," said Victoria Stoiciu.

The second project to be submitted by the PSD refers to the elimination of the obligation to pay the social health insurance contribution (CASS) for war veterans and widows, for former political prisoners, as well as for monastic personnel - monks and nuns.

"We said very clearly that we find it unfair that 418 people in Romania - 411 war veterans and seven widows of war veterans - should continue to pay this health contribution. It is a draft normative act that comes to repair what we, PSD, requested within the coalition in both package 1 and package 2 of measures," declared PSD deputy Marius Budai.