Bipartisan Bill Directs State Pension Funds to Divest Holdings in Companies

Supporting Genocide and State-Sponsored Terrorism

    AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senator Rodney Ellis
 (D - Houston) and Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale (R - Houston) announced the
 filing of Senate Bill 247 & House Bill 667. The bipartisan legislation
 calls for the targeted divestment of state pension funds invested in
 companies doing business with the government of Sudan. Texas Railroad
 Commissioner Michael Williams, Sen. Florence Shapiro, Rep. Ruth Jones
 McClendon and representatives of the University of Texas anti-genocide
 student coalition, The White Rose Society, joined the legislators in
 announcing the legislation.
     In the past four years, the Sudanese government and their allied
 organizations have systemically killed more than 400,000 people and
 displaced more than 2.5 million in Sudan's Darfur region. For the first
 time in history, the U.S. government declared these ongoing atrocities to
 be genocide. The U.N. declared the crisis the "worst humanitarian disaster
 in the world today."
     The Sudan Divestment Task Force, a project of the Genocide Intervention
 Network, developed the model legislation. Adam Sterling is the Project
 Director of the Task Force.
     "We are grateful for the bipartisan support and leadership of Senator
 Ellis, Rep. Van Arsdale and Commissioner Williams on this vital initiative.
 Texas has a unique opportunity to lead the nation and the world by
 divesting its state pension funds from companies that support and condone
 state- sponsored terrorism," Sterling said.
     'Stop the Darfur Genocide Act' utilizes a targeted divestment model
 focusing on the companies in Sudan that have a business relationship with
 the Sudanese government, impart minimal benefit to the underprivileged and
 have expressed no corporate responsibility policy regarding the current
 situation in Sudan. The targeted divestment approach will help to maximize
 the desired effect on the Sudanese government while minimizing harm to
 Sudanese civilians and investment returns.
     The legislation ensures that only the most egregiously offending
 companies will be affected and excludes any company that substantially
 benefits those outside of government circles such as those involved in
 medicine, education, general consumer goods, and agriculture. The
 legislation has already passed in 6 states and is similar to efforts
 currently underway in over 20 other states.
     Sterling also added, "While the exact figure won't be known until Texas
 fully scans its portfolios, most pension fund systems have somewhere
 between tens and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in problematic
 companies tied to Sudan -- a figure that is relatively small compared to
 Texas' pension funds size, but is rather large in the context of Sudan."
     "It is clear the Sudanese government is largely unresponsive to recent
 political pressure," said Senator Ellis. "It's time to turn up the economic
 pressure, and the pocketbook is a good pressure point. Texans have said
 with a loud and clear voice that it is time for the State of Texas to take
 a strong stand against this genocide."
     Rep. Van Arsdale added, "Texas can't stand idle while thousands of
 innocent people are being systematically slaughtered. The White House and
 Congress have declared Darfur a genocide. That's an important threshold.
 And we shouldn't be funding Texans' retirements by investing in companies
 who fuel a genocidal engine."
     "Ending the ongoing genocide is a bipartisan issue we can all agree
 on," said Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, a long-time Darfur
 advocate. "The effort in Texas reflects a coalition of support from
 progressive liberal organizations as well as faith-based, ecumenical groups
 united for a common good. I'm calling upon all Texans to join the effort to
 end this atrocity and embarrassment to humanity," he added.
     Leran Minc, a board member of The White Rose Society, a UT
 anti-genocide student coalition, joined the press conference and voiced the
 support of many campus-based initiatives working to help Darfur. The
 contingent of students concerned about this issue is sizable and
 organized," Minc said. "We will play an active role in advancing this
 legislation and raising awareness of this issue."
     For more information, go to http://www.sudandivestment.org .
 
 

SOURCE Sudan Divestment Task Force