HARRISBURG – Two bills to stop Pennsylvania tax dollars from supporting the Russian government were approved today following a public hearing by the Senate State Government Committee, according to Senator David G. Argall (R-29), the committee chairman.
“The citizens of Ukraine are suffering often untold horrors because of the invasion of their country by Russia and Belarus,” said Senator Argall. “I represent some of the most concentrated communities of Americans with Ukrainian ancestry in the United States. My constituents want to stop our state government from supporting anyone conducting business with these war criminals.”
The committee listened to testimony from Iryna Mazur, the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Pennsylvania; The Honorable Stacy Garrity, the Treasurer of Pennsylvania; and The Honorable Jim Gerlach, the President and CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.
“As today’s hearing demonstrated, divesting from Russian investments was the right thing to for many reasons,” said Treasurer Garrity. “I’m proud that Treasury acted quickly and decisively, and I support House Bill 2447 to establish a permanent, more formal policy for Pennsylvania.”
At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee voted to approve Senate Bill 1203, sponsored by Senator Argall to prohibit all Russian and Belarusian connections with Pennsylvania government investments, grants, and tax credits, and House Bill 2447, which provides for the divestiture of state investments in Russia and Belarus. Both bills now advance to the Senate for its consideration.
Contact: Jim Brugger
717.787.2637