To impose an economic sanction on foreign countries that owe parking fines and penalties or property taxes to Washington, D.C. or New York City.

SA 280. Mr. LUGAR (for Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Clinton)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 600, to authorize appropriations for the Department of State and international broadcasting activities for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, for the Peace Corps for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, for foreign assistance programs for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, and for other purposes; as follows:

(Purpose: To impose an economic sanction on foreign countries that owe parking fines and penalties or property taxes to Washington, D.C. or New York City)

At the appropriate place, insert the following new section:

Sec. . Withholding of Assistance for Parking Fines and Real Property Taxes Owed by Foreign Countries. (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c), of the funds made available by this Act for assistance for a foreign country, an amount equal to 110 percent of the total amount of the unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties and unpaid property taxes owed by the central government of such country shall be withheld from obligation for assistance for the central government of such country.

(b) Payment.--Funds withheld from obligation for a country under subsection (a) shall be paid to the jurisdiction to which the unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines or penalties or unpaid property taxes are owed.

(c) Amounts Withheld To Be Additional Funds.--Subsection (a) shall not include amounts that have been withheld under any other provision of law.

(d) Waiver.--(1) The Secretary of State may waive the requirements set forth in subsection (a) with respect to parking fines and penalties no sooner than 60 days from the date of enactment of this Act, or at any time with respect to a particular country, if the Secretary determines that it is in the national interests of the United States to do so.

(2) The Secretary of State may waive the requirements set forth in subsection (a) with respect to the unpaid property taxes if the Secretary of State determines that it is in the national interests of the United States to do so.

(e) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the initial exercise of the waiver authority in subsection (d), the Secretary of State, after consultations with the City of New York, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing a strategy, including a timetable and steps currently being taken, to collect the parking fines and penalties and unpaid property taxes and interest owed by nations receiving foreign assistance under this Act.

(f) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.

(2) The term “fully adjudicated” includes circumstances in which the person or government to whom the vehicle is registered--

(A)(i) has not responded to the parking violation summons; or

(ii) has not followed the appropriate adjudication procedure to challenge the summons; and

(B) the period of time for payment of or challenge to the summons has lapsed.

(3) The term “parking fines and penalties” means parking fines and penalties--

(A) owed to--

(i) the District of Columbia; or (ii) New York, New York; and

(B) incurred during the period April 1, 1997 through September 30, 2005.

(4) The term “unpaid property taxes” means the amount of unpaid taxes and interest determined by a court or other tribunal to be owed by a foreign country on real property in the District of Columbia or New York, New York.