VILNIUS — Newly-elected Speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutienė proposed cutting the expense accounts of parliament members today as the Lithuanian media shines a spotlight on abuse of the funds.

Degutienė is urging the Seimas members to cut their monthly individual expense accounts, which are intended to be used on transportation and other costs accrued taking care of parliamentary business, by 70 percent. This would put them in line with the average monthly salary in Lithuania, which ccording to the Department of Statistic’s latest figures is about 2,100 litai.

“Now that would be 1.7 [equivalent] of average monthly salary in Lithuania,” Jurgita Varžgalytė, head secretary of Degutienė’s still-to-be-formed support team, told Baltic Reports. “She wants to cut it to 1, so the same as a monthly salary in Lithuania, that is her suggestion.”

The Seimas will have to approve by majority vote for the decrease to pass.

“The decision has to be made by the entire parliament,” Varžgalytė said. “That is her idea, but it’s impossible to predict if it will be possible in reality. Next week Ms. Degutienė is going to meet with all the parties in parliament to talk about that.”

The proposal comes as media scrutiny on the use of taxpayer-funded expense accounts has intensified in light of the government’s austerity measures. Today Lithuanian news outlets was abuzz with a report that in the last three months, over a million litai had been paid out for Seimas members’ expense funds for things like German language lessons and hotel rooms while attending the Lithuanian national basketball team’s games abroad.