Last Tuesday, US President Donald Trump sent his 2018 budget plan to Congress with significant cuts in aid to Latin American countries, including Costa Rica.
It was said that $ 400 thousand would be allocated for the country.
Román Macaya, Costa Rican ambassador to Washington, explained the situation on Thursday morning and said the aid received might not be affected.
The plan presented by Trump must be analyzed and approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate before it becomes a law. That approval must be given before October 1st this year or it plays a resolution of continuation.
This means that in case there is no approval from the cameras, the budget from the previous year will be maintained, which would make the country keep the money used mainly for the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking.
It’s a situation that happens with some frequency. When there is no agreement between the cameras and the White House, they pass a continuation resolution that allows the State to continue operating with the previous budget,”
explained Macaya in videoconference.
According to the ambassador, in the last 17 years, the resolution of continuity was applied 13 times, including the eight budgets in the administration of Barack Obama.
In addition, Macaya clarified that the budgets that have been approved, for example for fiscal year 2017, will not be affected and those amounts were allocated for two or three years.
Three items totaling $30 million were approved for 2017 to be used for equipment, training, and aid to our agencies that fight organized crime. That was signed by the president and is law, so it remains the same,”
said Macaya.