California Delegation Lauds Lee’s Leadership on Darfur Divestment
Washington, DC – Members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation (CDCD) commended the leadership of U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) in working to stop the genocide in Darfur. In particular, delegation members highlighted her role in starting the process that led to the historic California legislation, signed into law by the governor last week, that divests California pension funds from companies whose business supports the genocide in Darfur.
“Congresswoman Lee is doing an outstanding job leading the divestment movement,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said. “All across the country, states and universities are leading divestment campaigns to ensure that money from American citizens will not go to a genocidal regime. Through her hard work and persistence, California will divest public pension funds from companies whose business in Sudan directly or indirectly support the genocide.
"Congresswoman Lee's leadership and persistence has been essential in divesting California pensions away from genocide supporters," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. "I am proud that we have such a strong voice in our delegation on this issue."
The process that led to the legislation began in November 2004 when members of the CDCD delegation wrote to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), asking CalPERS to investigate whether any of its investment companies do business with the Sudanese government.
Frustrated with the inadequacy of CalPERS response, Lee penned an op-ed entitled “Erase the Darfur Blood Stain From California's Pensions” that appeared in the Sunday Los Angeles Times in January 2005. In the piece she said that if CalPERS would not act on its own to divest, the state legislature should act to make it.
In March 2005, Lee provided testimony when the California State Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security held a hearing on the first of several state divestment bills. The following month, Lee led members of the California delegation in calling on to the CEOs and board of the California State Teacher’s Retirement System (CalSTRS) to develop a plan to divest -- and shortly afterward the CalSTRS board voted to do just that.
Lee is on the House International Relations committee, where she serves on the Africa Subcommittee, and has been a leading voice in the growing divestment movement. She has traveled twice to Darfur, first with Congressional colleagues and Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle in January 2005 and most recently on a delegation led by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in February 2006. In May 2006, she was arrested for protesting the genocide in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington, DC along with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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The California Democratic Congressional Delegation consists of 33 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives from California. This group outnumbers all other state House delegations - Republicans and Democrats combined.