Senate Passes Sen. Stack’s Divestment Bill

HARRISBURG, MAY 5, 2010 — The Pennsylvania Senate today passed state Sen. Mike Stack’s legislation (Senate Bill 928) that would require Pennsylvania’s two largest pension funds and the Pennsylvania Treasury Department to divest from investments in Sudan and Iran. It passed the Senate by a 42-7 vote.

“As a civilized Commonwealth, and as one of the states that was directly impacted by the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Pennsylvania cannot and will not associate itself with rogue nations that sponsor genocide and terrorism,” Stack said. “Companies that choose to conduct business with nations that sponsor terrorism or murder their own people should not be supported by Pennsylvania tax dollars.

“I especially want to thank Senators Joe Scarnati, Dominic Pileggi, Pat Browne, and LeAnna Washington for their work on this issue,” he said. “They were instrumental in the discussions, review, and passage of this legislation.”

At a Senate Appropriations budget meeting in February, PSERS officials stated that they were steadily reducing investments in companies investing in Sudan and Iran. Both PSERS and SERS say that less than 1 percent of their total investments are in companies doing business in Sudan or Iran.

“Divesting will not harm our pensions because it represents a small portion of the funds; plus, the funds and the state Treasury will have three years to divest,” Stack said. “This is a morally, fiscally, responsible and reasonable way for Pennsylvania to combat terrorism and genocide.”

There are 28 states that have either passed divestment laws or divested from Iran, Sudan, or both through executive orders.

“This is a surgical and targeted bill directed at two major players of terrorism and genocide. Iran has funded lethal action against U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Iran’s president has advocated wiping Israel off the map,” said Stack. “In Sudan oil revenues have been used to fund militias that carry out ethnic cleansing.”

The UN estimates that 300,000 people have died and more than 2 million people have been driven from their homes in Sudan’s Darfur region since 2003.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

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