The Bundestag has launched the billions in aid for the flood disaster in July: On Wednesday, Parliament discussed the draft law for the construction fund, which is to be set up as a special federal fund and provided with up to 30 billion euros by the federal government, in its first reading.
The SPD and Union Chancellor candidates, Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet, praised the planned aid as a sign of solidarity.
The federal states are to contribute half of the repayment of the aid money by assigning a portion of the sales tax revenue to the federal government by 2050.
The money from the fund is intended to benefit damaged private households, companies and other institutions and to restore the infrastructure.
The reconstruction of federal infrastructure, such as federal highways, is financed separately by the federal government.
"Matter of the whole country"
Federal Finance Minister Scholz said in the Bundestag that the catastrophe in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate was a "matter for the whole state". The state could not alleviate the suffering of relatives, said Scholz at the beginning of the Bundestag debate. But it is important "that we do what we can do". At the same time, the SPD candidate for chancellor warned to take more decisive action against climate change. The storm was "also a consequence of man-made climate change," said Scholz.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Laschet called for rapid help for those affected.
It is crucial that the money "arrives quickly", he said in the Bundestag.
Those who are faced with the ruins of their existence must be helped.
Everything must be done so that villages and cities can be rebuilt.
"We are keeping this promise together today," emphasized the CDU boss.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) said in the debate that Germany had never experienced a flood disaster of this magnitude.
This flood disaster hit the state of Rhineland-Palatinate “deeply”.
She also praised the commitment of the helpers.
It is "overwhelming to see how many people are on site"
Better warning of the population
The Bundestag plans to approve the reconstruction aid on September 7th, and a special session of the Bundesrat is planned for September 10th.
The coalition's draft law also provides for the obligation to file for insolvency to be temporarily suspended - in cases in which the insolvency is due to the effects of heavy rain or floods and there is a reasonable prospect of redevelopment.
In addition, the draft law provides for changes to the seizure protection, among other things, in order to give air to those affected with financial bottlenecks.
Another part of the bill are regulations for better warning of the population in the event of similar future events. Cell phone operators are required to set up a CB system with which a message can be sent to all cell phones registered in a cell.