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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 27, 2024 03:08 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Natalie Mihalek and Rep. Kristin Marcell, Rep. Robert W. Mercuri |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Stand With Israel Act |
| Since the Hamas terrorist attack against the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, the vast majority of communities throughout the United States have condemned Hamas’ actions and supported the ability of State of Israel to ensure its safety and security. Many of these sentiments were the basis of House Resolution 245, which passed the House of Representatives unanimously on October 17, 2023. Unfortunately, institutions of higher education, both here in Pennsylvania and elsewhere across the country, have been notable outliers. While individuals have the right to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, the use of encampments, destructive actions and occupations of campus buildings has crossed the line into lawlessness. In addition, there has been a movement to force colleges and universities to divest from Israel-connected financial assets and to boycott people and institutions connected to the State of Israel. The efforts to force divestment and boycott of the State of Israel, if successful on college campuses, my then spread to other institutions that hold financial assets, like the Commonwealth and its public funds. Divestiture and boycotting investments connected to Israel forces institutions to liquidate assets before the full value of the investment has been provided and to forego beneficial investments. As a result, students will face reduced scholarships, taxpayers will see the investments made in their name lose value, and public pension recipients could be forced to pay higher costs for their benefits. To guard against such harmful financial actions, we will soon introduce legislation to prohibit colleges and universities from engaging in actions that are intended to financially penalize the government of Israel or commercial financial activity in Israel. Further, this legislation will prohibit the State Treasurer and our three pension systems from taking similar steps to boycott and divest from the State of Israel. This legislation will match Senate Bill 1260, introduced by Senator Santarsiero and Senator Phillips-Hill, which passed the Senate on June 27, 2024, with a bipartisan vote of 41 to 7. We look forward to working with you on this important legislation and Senate Bill 1260. |