Overview
- The planned cabinet decision was pulled from today's agenda after late objections from Economics Minister Katherina Reiche, with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also raising issues.
- Reporting indicates Reiche blocked clearance by not sending her ministry to the state secretaries’ coordination round, which kept the bill off the cabinet docket.
- The key dispute concerns a clause in Labor Minister Bärbel Bas’s draft requiring a personal hearing before a total benefit cut to verify potential hardship.
- Reiche accuses the Labor Ministry of creating a loophole, a claim the ministry rejects, arguing the hearing safeguard ensures legality without preventing full sanctions if contact fails.
- The draft would cut cash after three missed Jobcenter appointments and halt rent the following month if no contact occurs, while Merz and Dobrindt describe the remaining points as routine legal and wording checks ahead of a planned resubmission next week.