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State lawmakers calling to divest public funds from Russia

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle—in both the state House and Senate—have proposed measures sanctioning Russia.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania lawmakers on both sides of the aisle—in both the state House and Senate—have made their stance clear.

“Pennsylvania stands united with Ukraine," said House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre). "We do not approve of this invasion.” 

Multiple measures proposed on Monday sought to sanction Russia’s attack on Ukraine by divesting public funds from Russian companies.

One measure was sponsored by State Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) who said, as a representative of Philadelphia, he felt a personal connection to Ukrainian civilians under attack.

“Kyiv is a city the size of Philadelphia,” Street said. “If you can imagine bombs and missiles being dropped in Philadelphia with that level of density, or Pittsburgh, we’re not talking about sparsely populated areas.”

Other measures were proposed by State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton and Lehigh), State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) and State Sen. David G. Argall (R-Berks/Schuylkill).

Passing a law may not be necessary, though. 

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity wrote in a tweet that the Treasury Department began divesting all holdings from Russian-backed companies last week. She added the entirety of the state’s “minimal” Russian holdings would be divested by Monday night.

“Certainly it’s all hands on deck," Sharif said. "So whether it’s through executive action or legislative action is less important to me than that it happened."

Lawmakers said, even if they were just symbolic, the divestment proposals are a public show of support for Ukraine.

“While it may not be millions and billions of dollars, any investment, whether symbolic or not, I think sends a strong message," Benninghoff said. "More states need to do this, and other countries need to stand united and just say we are not going to tolerate this kind of unprompted aggression."

Other state agencies are also reducing financial support for Russia.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said it had instructed all Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores to remove Russian-made products from shelves.

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