The Cabinet announced after a special session today that IL 1.15 billion will be cut from the budgets of various ministries except for the Defense Ministry. An IL 750 million reduction in the latter’s budget will be discussed further by the ministerial defense committee. Another IL 125 million that the Treasury wants to eliminate from national insurance payments will be discussed by the ministerial welfare committee, the announcement said.
The Cabinet convened today to continue its debate, begun Sunday, on the IL 2 billion budget cuts urged by Finance Minister Yehoshua Rabinowitz because of the unanticipated high rate of inflation. A number of key ministers were strongly opposed. But the Cabinet issued a communique pledging that the IL 85.2 billion budget ceiling would be maintained. The ministries were asked in effect to absorb inflationary costs by reducing their expenditures by specified amounts. The budget must be approved by the Knesset before June 30.
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