Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis requesting the Florida State Board of Administration reconsiders its policy to invest state employees’ pensions in China.

Florida’s Retirement System is the fourth-largest public retirement system in the country, with over $200 billion in assets, with some investments in a variety of Chinese state-owned companies actively involved in surveillance equipment for China’s People’s Liberation Army.

“Florida’s hardworking civil servants may not suspect that their publicly administered or managed retirement account invests in firms owned or controlled by the Government of China or the CCP,” the letter reads in part. “The reality is, however, that the FRS holds investments in a variety of such companies.

“It is of great concern to us that Florida public employees are often unwittingly investing in funds that hold stock of Chinese companies with direct affiliation to the CCP and the PLA, and we anticipate that it will be to all Floridians. Increased scrutiny for Chinese securities falls right in line with SBA’s current management of the FRS. The FRS currently has a number of legally required and laudable global governance mandates, including prohibitions on investing in companies that do business with Cuba, support the Maduro regime in Venezuela, or boycott our ally Israel.”

Read the full letter here.