1991 Statement – PC(USA), p. 742

1. Affirms that it will be the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) not to invest in the securities (preferred and common stock, bonds, commercial paper) of publicly-traded corporations engaged in military-related production, according to annual reports by the Departments of Defense and Energy and the Congressional Records, as follows:

a. Corporations that are among the ten leading military contractors (measured as dollar volume of military contracts in the most recent year) until such time as the United States is no longer among the top ten nations ranked according to per capita military expenditures.

b. Corporations that are among the one hundred leading military contractors and in addition are dependent on military contracts (domestic and/or foreign) for more than 25 percent of their sales (measured as the average ratio of military contracts to sales in the most recent three-year period). Insofar as sales to the military can be shown by the corporation to be merely general supplies readily available to civilians, rather than weapons production, such general supplies sales shall be excluded from the percentage of sales to the military for purposes of these criteria.

c. Corporations that make the key nuclear components for nuclear warheads.

4. Urges middle governing bodies, in consultation with the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, to establish dialogue with corporations headquartered within their bounds that are affected by this policy. The purposes of such dialogue would include provision of pastoral care within the presbytery for employees of affected corporations and interpretation of the theological basis for the policy. It would also provide opportunity to urge the corporations to change their policies and practices so that they would no longer be affected by the General Assembly guidelines for divestment. Where a particular corporation was judged by the middle governing body to be making substantial progress in such a direction, the governing body would ask the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment to consider recommending to the General Assembly that the corporation be excluded form the divestment and/or proscription list.

5. Establishes a one-year waiting period prior to divestment and/or proscription for corporations newly affected by criteria "a" and "b," and encourages middle governing bodies where they are headquartered, in consultation with the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment, to establish dialogue with those corporations to determine if steps are being taken that would place the corporation outside the divestment categories by the end of the one-year waiting period. The Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment may extend the waiting period if genuine progress is being achieved by the corporation and a reasonable date for compliance is established; otherwise, the corporation will be subject to divestment and/or proscription at the end of the waiting period.

6. Requests that Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment to monitor the Department of Energy contracts for the production of key nuclear components of nuclear warheads in order to obtain the names of corporations bidding for these contracts, and to notify the middle governing bodies where these corporations are headquartered.