The new Federal Finance Minister has not yet been in office for 24 hours – but already in need of money!
In a letter to the main committee in the Bundestag (BILD is available), the ministry asks for the release of a total of 16.3 billion euros in order to plug a huge financial gap at the Federal Employment Agency and the Ministry of Health.
Reason for the till trouble at the authority: the Corona crisis.
Because millions of people were put on short-time work by companies during the lockdowns, the employment agency had to tap into its reserves – and the tide is now ebbing there. A total of 14.9 billion euros is missing. With the fresh tax money, the gap should now be closed.
In addition, 1.4 billion euros should also flow to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). On the one hand, the money is to be used to support hospitals that had additional costs due to the treatment of corona patients. Federal Finance Minister Lindner calls for the release of a total of 900 million euros from parliament.
On the other hand, the health insurance companies should be reimbursed for the costs of corona tests and corona vaccinations in the current year.
The budget committee initially blocked the multi-billion dollar injection in April because it was not yet clear whether the funds would really be needed. Lindner’s State Secretary Florian Toncar has now requested that the ban be lifted in his letter to parliament.
Will it work? It remains to be seen: the Bundestag will vote on it on Thursday evening.
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