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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (233685)	6/14/2007 9:50:09 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 281500

New Jersey mulls becoming second state to ban Iran investments Philly Burbs ^ \| 14 June 07 \| Tom Hester phillyburbs.com TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey would become the second state to ban investing state pension funds in companies doing business in Iran under legislation advanced Thursday. A Senate committee approved a bill to restrict the state pension fund from buying stock in international companies that do business with Iran. An Assembly panel recently did the same and both houses can now consider the measure. "It's ludicrous that we should invest our dollars there, a country that wants to export terrorism, that wants to see the destruction of allies, that wants to see the destruction of the United States," said Sen. Robert W. Singer, R-Ocean, a bill sponsor. Florida earlier this month became the first state to approve such a law. Its measure also bans investments in Sudan. The New Jersey proposal mirrors a bill passed last year that prohibited investing state pension funds in those doing business in Sudan to protest what the United States has deemed a genocide in the African nation. New Jersey also passed a similar law in the 1980s barring investments in South Africa. The state's pension fund is worth about $78 billion, though it was unclear how much is invested in companies doing business in Iran. New Jersey recently divested $2.16 billion from 17 companies doing business in Sudan. Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, praised the bill, noting she is Jewish and Iran has threatened the United States and Israel. "This becomes doubly important to me, so I will be proud to see the state of New Jersey taking a stand," Weinberg said. Many states have been considering pulling their investments from companies doing business with Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Last year, Missouri adopted a policy to blacklist those four nations from receiving investments from its pension funds. California also banned pension money from being invested in companies doing business with Sudan, as have Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, and Oregon.