US Democrats Skeptical About Trump's New Aid Package For Central America - Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) US Democratic lawmakers doubt the Trump administration will deliver on its promise to send more than $5 billion in aid to Central America given the US president's campaign to cut foreign assistance, Congressman Elliot Engel said in a press release.

Earlier in the day, the State Department announced that the US government promised to allocate $5.8 billion of public and private funding to support economic development and reform efforts in the Northern Triangle, referring to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

"Democrats in Congress are skeptical about the Trump Administration's rhetorical commitment to new funding for Central America and southern Mexico to address the root causes of child migration," Engel said on Tuesday.

"Budgets set priorities, and when President Trump releases his international affairs budget proposal next year, he should include additional funding for the region rather than recklessly gutting it."

Since taking office, Engel added, Congress has tried to stop Trump's misguided effort to slash foreign assistance to Central America. In fact, Engel said, Trump took to Twitter recently to announce he was cutting off aid to these exact countries.