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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2004

SCHUMER-CLINTON AMENDMENT FORCING DEADBEAT DIPLOMATS TO PAY PARKING TICKETS OR LOSE FOREIGN AID CLEARS KEY HURDLE

Senate Appropriation Committee adopts Schumer-Clinton proposal to cut foreign aid for nations that owe New York City parking tickets

Provision would help NYC recover up to approximately $20 million repayment to NYC for about 185,000 unpaid tickets from up to 175 counties

The US Senate Appropriations Committee today unanimously backed a proposal from US Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Clinton that would cut foreign aid to nations that owe New York City unpaid parking tickets. Despite significant progress over the last year to collect parking tickets from deadbeat diplomats, New York City is still owed about $20 million in 185,000 unpaid fines from foreign consulates and embassies.

"If you or I ignore a parking ticket, we have to pay double the fine. If diplomats ignores parking tickets, we send them foreign aid. That makes no sense. Regardless of who you are or where you are from, you're not above the law in New York" Schumer said.

"As I have said in the past, it is not acceptable for foreign diplomats and consular officials to hide behind diplomatic and consular immunity to park in illegal spaces in New York City and avoid paying parking tickets. It is my hope that this legislation will ensure that the City gets the money that it is owed," Senator Clinton said.

The amendment to the 2005 Foreign Operations Bill - which passed the full Appropriation Committee and was sent to the Senate Floor today - will reduce a county's foreign aid package by whatever that country owes in unpaid New York City parking tickets plus an additional ten percent penalty for a total cut of 110 percent. Both the original parking fines and the interest levied by New York City will be charged, and all parking violations issued to diplomats between April 1997 and September 2004 will be counted against the foreign aid package. In order for a country to receive the part of the foreign aid package frozen under this law, the Secretary of State will have to certify in writing to Congress that the fines and penalties are fully paid.

Just two days before terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Schumer and Clinton added language to the foreign operations bill to collect overdue New York City parking tickets from diplomats. That provision led to the State Department striking a deal with New York City in August 2002 under which diplomats agreed to pay approximately 60 percent of the $20 million owed in unpaid parking tickets.

Unlike the language added to the foreign operations bill before 9/11, today's language allows the Secretary of State to waive the penalties against a country if it is in the national security interests of the United States. If the Secretary of State elects to do this, he or she has to explain to Congress why and propose alternate steps to collect the unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by that country.

"Other than getting a pink slip from your boss, few things are as crushing as getting one of those little orange envelopes from a traffic cop. If native New Yorkers can't get away without paying their tickets, neither should diplomats visiting our City," Schumer said.

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