SLD withdraws support from legislation that increases budget spending

Leszek Miller, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), and deputy Sejm speaker Marek Borowski, have called for the withdrawal of all draft bills that might lead to an increase in budget spending. The SLD explained that although it had supported some of the bills, it did so because it though them to be necessary. Now, says the left-wing party, there is a backlog of legislation proposed by right-wing MPs that are election-oriented and could lead to an additional zl.8 billion having to be found from the budget. Among the legislation awaiting the Sejm's approval are the Higher Education Bill, costing zl.3 billion, tax breaks for children, estimated at zl.1 billion, and benefits for non-working mothers that could be worth zl.2.2 billion. According to Miller, increasing the burden on the budget is irresponsible, especially as it will have to be carried out by the next government. The SLD claims it has withdrawn all its proposals that would increase budget spending. (Gazeta Wyborcza, July 2-3, p. 24) J.K.