SCHUMER TO DIPLOMAT SCOFFLAWS: PAY YOUR TICKETS OR LOSE FOREIGN AID

New Provision in Senate Foreign Operations Bill, Inserted by Senators Schumer and Clinton, Will Reduce Foreign Aid for Nations Who Owe Money in Unpaid Parking Fines to New York City Schumer Calls on Secretary of State Colin Powell to Guarantee Repayment to NYC Standing across the street from the United Nations , US Senator CHARLES E. SCHUMER today announced that a new, little-known provision in the FY 2002 Senate Foreign Operations Bill will reduce foreign aid to nations who owe money in unpaid parking tickets and fines to New York City. The provision - inserted in the bill by Schumer, working with Senator Hillary Clinton - would reduce aid by 110% of the amount owed to New York City, giving those nations a financial incentive to pay their debts. Schumer then released a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell asking him to guarantee that the State Department will reimburse New York City in full if the nations losing foreign aid fail to reimburse the City within six months of losing their aid. Under current law, nations who owe parking fines to the District of Columbia lose foreign aid. The new provision in the FY2002 Foreign Operations Bill extends this benefit - and the millions of dollars that potentially come with it - to New York City.

The Foreign Operations bill now reads, "Of the funds made available for a foreign country under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, an amount equivalent to 110 percent of the total unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties owed to the District of Columbia and New York City, New York by such country as of the date of the enactment of this Act shall be withheld from obligation for such country until the Secretary of State certifies and reports in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that such fines and penalties are fully paid to the governments of the District of Columbia and New York City, New York."

"For far too long, diplomats have broken the law of this City and gotten away with it," Schumer said. "That's just infuriating. Traffic rules and parking rules exist for the good of everyone. There's a reason why you can't park next to a fire hydrant. There's a reason why you have to feed the meter. Those reasons - public safety and fairness - have fallen on diplomatic deaf ears so far. Hopefully, when their countries lose significant amounts of foreign aid and are forced to repay their debts to New York City, these scofflaws will learn to play by the rules."

According to New York City Department of Finance, over $20 million is owed to New York City in parking fines from diplomatic and consular vehicles. The top ten violators include: Egypt with 15,924 violations and $1,629,216 in unpaid fines, Nigeria with 10,301 violations and $1,140,725 in unpaid fines, Kuwait with 8,775 violations and $981,571 in unpaid fines, Indonesia with 8,966 violations and $873,502 in unpaid fines, Russia with 7,241 violations and $799,240 in unpaid fines, Brazil with 6,021 violations and $635,185 in unpaid fines, Morocco with 5,320 violations and $553,830 in unpaid fines, Malaysia with 4,164 violations and $464,018 in unpaid fines, China with 4,310 violations and $459,155 in unpaid fines and Pakistan with 4,346 violations and $453,030 in unpaid fines. Not all of these violators receive US foreign aid.

Schumer released a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell asking him to guarantee repayment to New York City by the State Department if the nations losing financial aid still fail to pay their debts within six months of losing foreign aid. "If those nations repay their debt to New York City, they should receive the withheld portion of their foreign aid," Schumer wrote. "But if they fail to repay their debt within six months of losing a portion of their foreign aid, I respectfully request that you see to it that the money saved in foreign aid is repaid to New York City in full."

Since not all nations receive foreign aid, Schumer went on to write, "[S] ome nations do not receive foreign aid, yet still regularly violate parking regulations and then fail to pay the fines. In those cases, I request that you continue working with the City to do whatever it takes to ensure those nations pay their debts."

"Senator Clinton and I hope this new provision won't just get money back for New York City, but deter diplomatic scofflaws from continuing to flaunt our laws," Schumer said. "Regardless of who you are or what you do, you're not above the law. "

Schumer's letter to Powell is attached.

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