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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State
Treasurer |
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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State
Treasurer |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman on Thursday addressed the annual meeting of the Board of Regents of the Center for Security Policy in the nation’s capital in an hour-long program detailing new safeguards she has established in Missouri to ensure tax dollars are not placed in companies that support terrorism or in nations sanctioned by the U.S. government for being state sponsors of terrorist groups.
Steelman was asked to make the presentation by Center for Security Policy Chairman Frank Gaffney Jr., who previously served as Assistant Secretary of Defense under the Reagan administration. Gaffney called Steelman’s anti-terror innovations “Freedom’s new weapon” and a “major contributor in the war for the free world.”
“This is the single most important issue we’ve (the center) been involved with for years. Treasurer Steelman's efforts are historic and should be emulated around this nation,” Gaffney said
In her presentation, Steelman outlined the screening processes and structure put in place through the Missouri Investment Trust -- the nation’s first fund for investing public tax dollars that identifies and screens out companies that support terrorism and nations sanctioned as state sponsors of terrorism.
She also discussed strong new policies implemented to protect the state’s pension fund, MOSERS, which include disclosure of terror-related risks by external fund managers and both internal and external reviews using data provided by independent research companies, followed by divestiture decisions by the MOSERS board.
“These measures ensure that our tax dollars are not used to help foreign companies or nations that sanction and support terrorist groups,” Steelman said. “But what it's really about are the soldiers that fight for our safety and freedom, and the people and the nation they protect. It is in the best tradition and spirit of this nation we love that individual Americans take up the fight and demand policies that reflect their values. We all can and should play a part in winning this war, and I'm so happy for the support that is being poured out from our nation's leaders on this issue.”
Steelman’s remarks were part of a day-long conference by the Board of Regents which included presentations by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, who is chairman of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee, a representative of the National Security Council For Defense Affairs, and Jerusalem Post Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Glick.