Wisconsin state Rep. Dale Kooyenga says he wants to make sure the state investment board doesn’t do business with Iran. The Brookfield Republican drafted a bill to ban the board from investing in companies that do.
According to Kooyenga, 25 states have already imposed similar sanctions since Congress approved President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran in September. That agreement lifts federal sanctions that barred U.S. companies from trading with Iran.
Kooyenga, an Iraq War veteran, said hundreds of American soldiers were killed in Iraq by improvised explosive devices made in Iran.
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“I think it makes tremendous sense to makes sure that we have policies in place to make sure that companies are not to be financed that will be bringing new Western technology that either directly or indirectly can be used for a nation that has demonstrated that they will use weapons against American soldiers,” he said.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board does not currently have any investments in Iran. The bill would would bar them once federal sanctions are lifted next year.
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