予算案、２２日衆院通過へ　自・立が採決日程で合意

　自民党の高木毅、立憲民主党の馬淵澄夫両国対委員長は１８日、２０２２年度予算案について、２１日の衆院予算委員会で締めくくり質疑と採決を行う日程で合意した。衆院本会議での採決は翌２２日とすることも確認。与党などの賛成多数で可決、参院へ送付される見通しだ。
　衆院予算委の根本匠委員長（自民）はこれに先立つ理事会で、２１日の締めくくり質疑と採決を職権で決定。与党側は同日中に衆院本会議に緊急上程する方針だったが、野党側は「急ぐ合理的な理由がない」と反発していた。
　このため、高木、馬淵両氏が国会内で断続的に協議。高木氏は、２１日の予算委採決前に岸田文雄首相と関係閣僚が出席する集中審議を行い、本会議採決も１日遅らせることを提案し、馬淵氏も受け入れた。（2022/02/18-20:13）

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan agreed Friday to vote on the government's fiscal 2022 budget bill at a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
   The budget bill is expected to be approved by the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, by a majority vote with support mainly from the LDP-led ruling bloc, before being sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, for further discussions.
   At their meeting, Diet affairs chiefs of the LDP and the CDP also agreed to wrap up discussions on the bill and hold a vote at a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee on Monday.
   If the budget bill clears the Lower House on Tuesday, it will be the second-fastest postwar budget passage. The fastest such Lower House procedures were completed on Feb. 19, 1999.
   Due to the Lower House's constitutional superiority over the Upper House, the bill's Lower House passage on Tuesday will make it certain for the bill to be enacted before the start of fiscal 2022 on April 1.