Final passage imminent for Schumer-Clinton proposal to cut foreign aid for nations that have unpaid New York City parking tickets and back property taxes

Provisions would help NYC recover up to approximately $195 million repayment to NYC from up about 200 counties

US Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced Congress will pass their proposal that would cut foreign aid to nations that owe New York City unpaid parking tickets and back property tax. The bill now awaits final approval by Congress before heading to the President for his signature.

Despite significant progress over the last year to collect parking tickets from deadbeat diplomats and to crack down on diplomatic building owners who owe property taxes, New York City is still owed approximately $195 million from foreign consulates and embassies.

"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 you or I ignore a parking ticket, we have to pay double the fine. If a diplomat ignores a parking ticket, we send him foreign aid. That makes no sense. And forget about not paying your property tax bill – they’ll take your house. Well, regardless of who you are or where you are from, you're not above the law in New York," Senator Schumer said.

"New York City residents, commuters and visitors are faced with tremendous burdens related to parking. It is simply outrageous for these individuals to park illegally and blatantly ignore paying their parking tickets - New Yorkers face severe financial penalties if they do this and so should diplomats. We can not have different standards of accountability, diplomats can't hide behind their immunity, they must be held to the same law abiding standards," Senator Clinton said..

A measure in the 2005 Foreign Operations Bill – which is passing the House and Senate today as part of the 2005 Ominbus spending bill– will reduce a county's foreign aid package by whatever that county owes in unpaid New York City parking tickets and back property taxes, 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.

In April 2003, New York City filed suit against four foreign governments that owe the city over $100 million in back property taxes. Foreign governments argue that because of diplomatic immunity, they do not have to pay property taxes. But New York City discovered that the Philippines, India and Mongolia had been renting out portions of their properties to private-sector businesses or consular staff. According to New York City, this income makes the properties taxable. Under the language passed today, if unpaid property taxes are identified in a judgment issued against a country in a State or Federal Court, they can be counted against that country’s foreign aid.

Schumer and Clinton also thanked Representative Nita Lowey for championing this issue and crafting the final legislative language in the Appropriations Committee.

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