The joint committee session witnessed a heated verbal altercation between MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Michel Moawad regarding the powers of the caretaker government. Moawad stated, concerning the issue that arose: "Every three sessions, there is a problem between Ali Hassan Khalil and a Deputy, 'we need to calm down with each other,' and he needs to know that the parliamentary council is not his property and he must respect our parliamentary position."
In a press conference after the session, MP Ali Hassan Khalil said, "We are insistent on our position and committed to clearly stating that it is the government's duty to propose projects; it is absolutely not right for anyone to demand that the caretaker government fulfill its responsibilities, including dismissals and appointments. Today, at this moment, it is claimed that it does not have the right to address matters related to this broad legitimacy of the Lebanese people and the regularity of their administrative work."
Meanwhile, MP Najat Saliba questioned, "How can they put forward draft laws without a budget?" For his part, MP Melhem Khalaf commented, "Unfortunately, the session can be summarized as a game of shifting responsibilities, representing the dissolution and disorder of the state in contrast to the people’s plight that can no longer be tolerated. This plight we have been highlighting and saying we will reach a point where it can no longer be borne."
After the session ended, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab stated, "Today, there were draft laws referred from the government since 2004, including retirement systems and elder care, which obligates us, given the current economic and financial situation, to approve this law. The International Labour Organization worked with the parliament and colleague Nicolas Nahas on this project, and they produced a summary of their findings, which is something civilized. There are questions about how we will implement it in the context of the collapse. We need to prepare the law, and from this standpoint, after the study, we set a deadline of two weeks to evaluate what happened and revisit the project. Every Deputy will send their written remarks about it to the secretariat."
He added, "We discussed government projects related to employee salaries and transportation allowances, and there are differences in viewpoints. Politically, some believe the government does not have the right to submit projects because it is a caretaker government, while others believe the opposite. As the head of the joint committees, I adhere to the parliamentary internal regulations. In the next session next week, we will continue with the projects, and the agenda will remain the same along with any proposals we might receive regarding these issues."
The finance, administration and justice, national defense, economy, health, defense, education, and public works committees held a joint session on Wednesday morning in the parliament, chaired by Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, with the presence of the finance minister in the caretaker government, Youssef Khalil, 47 members of these committees, in addition to 16 deputies from outside the invited committees and representatives from public administrations.
