The Ministerial Commission on Legislation today approved the bill of the Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman on the abolition of restrictions on the use of army contributions ("picadon") by demobilized soldiers and the permission to use this money for any purposes.
As it is specified in the press release of the military department, today, according to the law, a demobilized soldier can use money from an army contribution ("picadon") for the first five years after demobilization for only five following purposes: study, business start-up, apartment purchase, marriage and driving lessons .
The Ministerial Commission decided to approve the bill of Minister Lieberman in the first reading in the Knesset, but before the second and third reading, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance will have to come to an agreement on how to pay the "Picadon".
At the same time, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon objected to the proposal of the Minister of Defense to give all servicemen a cash gift immediately upon demobilization.
As stated in the press release of the defense ministry, a few days ago, the Ministry of Finance sent a letter in which it unequivocally expressed its negative position with regard to the new draft law.
The letter noted that although the new draft law does not imply any increase in the budget, "a change in the cash flow of 4 billion shekels is the most significant change in the state budget and it needs to find a budget source for the coming years."
In response to a letter from the Ministry of Finance, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated: "I'm surprised. It's not about increasing the budget, but solely about the money that is entirely owned by soldiers under the law. In such matters, there is no place for games. Given the availability of budget surpluses, the problem with the availability of funds should not arise. I hope that the Minister of Finance will instruct the employees of his ministry to support tomorrow the draft law at the ministerial commission. "