On September 16, the State Duma resumed its work after the summer break. What tasks does the parliament face? The leadership of the United Russia faction is planning a large number of initiatives. But the main thing is the preparation of the budget for 2025 and 2026-2027, where the red line is ensuring the country’s defense capability, developing the national economy, social protection of the population, and implementing the Party’s People’s Program.
ATTENTION TO NEW NATIONAL PROJECTS
According to the President’s instructions, within the framework of the implementation of the national project “Family”, it is planned to extend the maternity capital program until 2026, increase funding for social contracts (an additional 100 billion rubles by 2030) and allocate additional assistance to regions with low birth rates (at least 75 billion rubles by 2030). In addition, it is planned to increase the coverage of long-term care for the elderly and disabled (up to 500 thousand people by 2030), provide funding for the modernization of perinatal centers, children’s clinics and hospitals, major repairs of kindergartens and the construction of at least 100 institutions for preschool children.
A significant amount of funding is allocated to new national projects. Thus, for the development of the national project “Long and Active Life”, the party will provide at least an additional 1 trillion rubles for the repair and equipment of hospitals and clinics by 2030 and funds for the construction of at least 350 sports facilities per year. The national project “Youth” will allocate funds for the construction of at least 150 schools (over 210 billion rubles by 2030) and the renovation of schools (at least 317 billion rubles by 2030).
A large number of initiatives are planned within the framework of the national project “Personnel”, including the repair and equipping of schools and technical colleges, the renovation of at least 800 university residences and the creation of at least 40 university campuses by 2036.
In addition, funding will be provided for the implementation of other new national projects: “Ecology”, “Tourism and Hospitality”, “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State”.
EXPERT COMMENT
Tatyana Butskaya, First Deputy Chairwoman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Parenting, Motherhood and Childhood, Coordinator of the Federal Party Project “Strong Family”.
– In everything that concerns the family, stability and confidence in the future are very important. Therefore, it is important that those programs that are already running also continue to function. We are talking about the maternity capital program, payments for the birth of a third child and, of course, unified benefits that help families quite significantly. All of the above areas are very costly from a financial point of view, it is important to preserve them.
In addition, we have launched several programs to solve the housing problem: “Family Mortgage”, “Far Eastern Mortgage”. I would like to remind you that now the standard mortgage rate already reaches 24% per annum, the “Family” is provided at 6%, and the “Far Eastern” – at 2%. It is clear that all costs are reimbursed by the state.
We have obligations towards large families; they were adopted at the legislative level and confirmed by a presidential decree on the status of large families. Large families have the right to receive a plot of land together with communications. Unfortunately, we see that this program has not yet received widespread development: only about 300 houses have been built. Land is not provided in all regions. The sites must have roads, electricity and water. There should be a clinic and a school nearby.
We will have to confirm all this once again in the budget, both for next year and in the budget we are considering with a three-year perspective.
EXPANSION OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS TO THE SOUTH AND EAST
The budget will include funds for the creation of large infrastructure facilities: the modernization of 75 airports, the development of the North-South international transport corridor and the expansion of the eastern section of the railways: BAM and Trans-Siberian.
In addition, as part of the President’s instructions, the budget will provide funds for the development and support of regions: extend the program to support regions in difficult economic situations (at least 10 billion rubles per year will be allocated for these purposes) and write off two-thirds of the regions’ debt on budget loans (which will allow them to save about 200 billion rubles annually until 2028, which should be spent on new infrastructure projects).
Funding will also be provided for the social gasification programme and its extension to gardening associations.
Work is underway to improve the legislation on support for SVO participants and their families. The State Duma is already working on bills on exemption from enforcement fees for our defenders, on granting SVO participants with disabled children the right to receive extra cash payments for the purchase of housing, on granting the status of war veterans to employees of the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office performing duties in the SVO zone. In addition, the party’s portfolio includes 18 more bills, the details of which are being discussed with the federal government and experts.
THE SCHOOL WILL COME INSIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS
The party considers the support of the institution of motherhood and childhood to be key issues. On the agenda are two bills that have already been approved in the first reading by the State Duma: on the sale or exchange of an apartment purchased with maternity capital for one with a higher or more expensive cadastral value without the involvement of guardianship authorities; on the need to confirm that houses and apartments purchased with the participation of maternity capital are in residential condition.
A bill on hospital schools is being prepared, where children who have been in hospitals for a long time will be able to study (the bill is being developed jointly with the Dmitry Rogachev Medical Center).
In addition, as part of the protection of traditional values, the party proposes to ban the adoption and guardianship of Russian children in countries where gender reassignment is practiced (a corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma in July).
The faction will continue to protect the financial interests of the country’s citizens. Thus, a bill has been submitted to regulate consumer installment payments, which do not involve the execution of a loan agreement, which deprives buyers of the guarantees provided for by the Federal Law “On Consumer Credit”. In addition, on behalf of the president, the party proposes to extend credit holidays to medium, small and micro-enterprises, as well as self-employed persons. This mechanism has proven its effectiveness in relation to citizens. It is important that when applying for credit holidays, entrepreneurs are not subject to special requirements in terms of reducing the volume of revenue or the operation of the company in certain industries. The bill was submitted to the State Duma.
INCREASING THE PRESTIGE OF A SCIENTIST
The party is not weakening its attention to the sphere of education. A bill has been submitted regulating the field of additional professional medical education, which implies the provision of such services only by organizations that meet the requirements for the content of the programs, the presence of the necessary material and technical base and have trained personnel. In the final reading, we plan to adopt a bill establishing the legal status of young scientists. This measure will have a positive effect on increasing the prestige of the scientific profession and the scientific profession.
A number of important bills are planned to be adopted in the field of youth policy and support for volunteer movements. A bill on systematization of the field of youth policy has been submitted to the State Duma, which expands the main directions of implementation of this work in terms of providing socio-psychological assistance, developing proactive student budgets, social sports, and developing readiness to fulfill the constitutional duty to protect the Fatherland and support young scientists. In addition, amendments to the law on youth policy will give the authorities additional powers to help young people find employment and support student groups.
A bill has also been submitted to abolish personal income tax for reimbursement of expenses for medical services of volunteers. The bill was developed in connection with the expansion of the list of rights of volunteers defined in the article of the law “On charitable activities and voluntary work (volunteering)”. At the initiative of United Russia, the list was supplemented with the right to receive support in the form of payment for the costs of providing medical services necessary for the implementation of their activities.
EXPERT COMMENT
Alexander Mazhuga, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education
– In my opinion, the draft federal budget should first of all cover all social obligations in the field of education and science: scholarships, teachers’ salaries, and salaries of our scientists. At the same time, the President, in his address to the Federal Assembly, set a goal that by 2030 consolidated budget expenditures in the R&D sector would increase to 2% of GDP. This speaks of the importance of science. Last year, expenditures on the state program for scientific and technological development amounted to 1 trillion 390 billion rubles. This figure increases every year. It includes all our key projects in the higher education and R&D sectors.
What should you pay attention to? Of course, these are technological sovereignty projects. Be it drones, new materials, or chemistry, separate national technological sovereignty projects are being created everywhere. Each of them contains a section related to science, research, and development. And, of course, it is important to preserve all existing tools to support cooperation between science and business. We are talking about tools to ensure technological sovereignty, the creation of advanced engineering schools, the development of the Priority 2030 program, as well as a program to equip educational organizations and research institutes.
BRING ORDER TO MIGRANTS
In the area of migration policy, the State Duma Commission on Migration Policy, established on behalf of State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and headed by Deputy Chairman Irina Yarovaya, has sent to the Czech Republic the final version of five draft laws on combating illegal migration. Supreme Court and Government.
The package of bills proposes:
– solutions aimed at preventing the use of modern information technologies for criminal purposes of organizing illegal migration;
– to classify the organization of illegal migration as a particularly serious crime if it is committed by an organized group or for the purpose of committing grave or particularly grave crimes on the territory of the Russian Federation, establishing a prison sentence of eight to fifteen years;
– special liability is established for officials who commit crimes related to illegal migration and an additional penalty in the form of deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or carry out certain activities;
– special attention is paid to fictitious registration and registration of foreign citizens, as crimes requiring liability that prevent this type of assistance to illegal migration;
– new types of administrative liability for legal entities for falsifying documents for the purpose of organizing illegal migration, including those used for illegal stay in the territory of the Russian Federation and illegal employment, which will entail significant fines and confiscations.
In addition, during the autumn session, deputies are likely to propose legislative initiatives that will significantly contribute to the lives of Russians.
