Compared to the spring session of 2000 when the third Duma was around, this spring the number of bills adopted by the lower house in the first reading has doubled; 15 times as many other documents have been adopted, and over 20 bills were adopted in the second reading, he said.
According to the legislator, the main result of the spring session is that the Duma has developed and considered a package of bills providing affordable housing for the Russian people.
"A right to have normal housing, consistently stipulated since the Soviet constitution, is still mere words for many Russians," he emphasized.
The housing legislation package developed and submitted by the United Russia faction will mark a turn for the better to solve the housing problem that has been haunting the country for so long, the Deputy Speaker said. He recalled that the Duma had spent the last day of the spring session on the housing legislation and adopted some of the relevant documents in the second reading.
Another law Mr. Pekhtin expanded on was the notorious bill on in-kind social benefits. He said, "It took [us] real courage to face this acute problem."
According to him, United Russia deputies believed that it is better to pay money for the people to spend it for what they really need than give them in-kind benefits on paper.
He agreed that the bill was far from perfect and needed adjustment with account for all justified complaints about it. "We will do our best to have considered all complaints and bridged all gaps" by early August when the second reading of the bill is due, Mr. Pekhtin promised.
