As you are probably aware, I've been calling for Florida to divest its state pension plan of investments propping up Russian president Putin, fueling his war crimes in Ukraine, and working against the global sanctions regime. Since I started calling for this divestment, Florida's investments in Russia have lost over $280m in value.

Investing in Putin is bad for freedom, and a bad investment.

Today, along with 29 co-signed lawmakers, I sent a letter urging Governor DeSantis, House Speaker Sprowls, and Senate President Simpson to add the divestment of Russian assets to the upcoming special session agenda. Read the letter here.

I've already written the bill. It's nearly identical to how our state has previously divested from Cuba, Venezuala, and Iran. Versions of it have already passed with not just bipartisan support, but unanimous support in dozens of state legislatures across the nation.

THIS SHOULDN'T BE PARTISAN! Still, I'll just spoil this for you right now: not a single Republican signed onto this letter. I'm old enough to remember when I was a Republican, when war hero John McCain would bash President Obama for not being tough enough on Russia. And now, the modern-day GOP can't even be bothered to stand with an innocent nation war-torn by Russia.   

And I'm going to make some additional points for the trolls that I know are going to have a field day with this one:

• Yes, they had a fair chance. It's been 68 days since I first filed the amendment and I personally reached out to each member, and not one was willing to stand up to their party bosses and do the right thing.
• Yes, we are capable of divesting from Russia. This isn't something complicated like when the Governor called to divest from Twitter last week...
• The $280m is the LOSS we incurred on our Russian investments in 2022 out of an original investment of $307m.
• Going into the year, Florida had INCREASED its investments in Russia. Without divesting, Florida could at any moment start buying NEW Russian stocks again.
• Florida has invested in Ukraine just 0.5% of what we have invested in their invader. 

$280m is REAL money that our retirees no longer have to fund their pensions. I personally grovel over a few hundred thousand dollars to fix the damn roads in my district, so this is nothing to scoff at. Still, in the grand scheme of the war in Ukraine, Florida's role is on the sidelines. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULDN'T AT LEAST STAND ON THE SIDE OF FREEDOM!

I know what side of freedom I'm on, I've known it since I first joined the Navy after 9/11. I'm PROUD to be on the right side of history for Ukraine - the side of freedom.