PORTLAND (AP) – State Sen. Ethan Strimling announced Tuesday he will introduce legislation directing the state to divest its holdings in companies that operate in countries that support and finance international terrorism.

Strimling, D-Portland, said the state has more than $50 million invested in corporations involved in development of nuclear power plants, oil and gas development, ship construction and other projects in countries such as Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria.

Strimling, the Senate chairman of Maine’s Homeland Security Task Force who’s expected to make a congressional bid, made the announcement at Portland International Jetport, where two of the 9/11 hijackers began their mission six years ago.

“It’s outrageous to think that six years after the tragic events of 9/11, U.S investors and taxpayers are helping to underwrite the economies of the very countries that want to kill us,” he said. “Most people are shocked to discover that their own retirement accounts include investments in companies that do business with Iran and other terror nations.”

Strimling was the sponsor of legislation that directed the Maine State Retirement System to respond to human rights abuses in Darfur by divesting its holdings in companies that do business in Sudan.

That legislation, he said, resulted in the divestment of more than $18 million in such companies with no impact on the retirement system’s performance or its members’ pensions.

AP-ES-09-11-07 1543EDT