July 27, 2012
SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE SENDS THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO A FLOOR VOTE AT THE UNITED STATES SENATE
Senate Committee Allows The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities To Move Forward, CRPD Legislation Requires Ratification By The Full United States Senate
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) reports that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on the morning of July 26th, clearing it for a vote by the full Senate.
Members of the Committee voted 13 to 6 to send the CRPD to the Senate floor for a vote. Now that the CRPD will definitely go to the Senate floor, the challenge for supporters of the CRPD, including the NAD, is to make sure that the CRPD is deliberated and voted upon by the Senate before summer recess begins at the end of next week. Ratifying the CRPD requires a two-thirds majority Senate vote, and that means that in order to ratify the CRPD, 67 Senators must vote for ratification. No date has been set for the Senate vote, and the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, will decide when the Senate vote takes place.
“Today’s passage of the CRPD by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is a victory, but the fight is far from over,” said NAD President Christopher Wagner. “We must continue to reach out to members of the Senate, asking them for their support in the ratification of this groundbreaking international treaty.”
If the CRPD is ratified in the U.S., the U.S. will be able to join the global community in efforts to promote, protect, and ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Read here for more on the NAD and the CRPD. Want to learn more details? Watch the U.S. Committee on Foreign Relations in action! Watch this captioned video, from Thursday, July 12, 2012, and see several panel speakers speak in front of the Committee about the CRPD.
NAD CEO Howard A. Rosenblum urges everyone to be involved in this effort, by saying, “this Senate vote is crucial, because only 34 votes can stop this ratification. Reach out to your Senators today and tell them to ratify the CRPD.”
Remember, the fight is far from over! The previous discussion to e-mail or call was about the Committee hearing, and going forward the call or e-mail is about the vote on the Senate floor! Even if you’ve contacted your Senators already, you can help to ratify the CRPD in three ways:
1) You need to call or e-mail your Senator RIGHT NOW.
Call: Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator by name.
E-mail: Here’s a sample message you can copy and paste, and it’ll take you two minutes to send an e-mail to your Senator right here, right now.
SAMPLE MESSAGE:
RE: Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Hello, my name is [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE].
I stand with the National Association of the Deaf, among several other organizations and advocates, in my strong support of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I am writing to you today to urge you to support the ratification of the CRPD. As your constituent, I request that you vote for the ratification of the CRPD when it comes to a vote on the floor of the Senate.
Thank you,
[INSERT YOUR NAME HERE].
Not sure how to contact your Senator? Here’s all the information you need, right here!
2) You ALSO need to forward this message to everyone you know RIGHT NOW. Tell them to stand with the National Association of the Deaf and to contact their Senators, and ask for the ratification of the CRPD. Think family members, co-workers, friends- everyone you know.
3) You need to check to see if your Senator voted for or against the CRPD in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote.
If they voted for the CRPD then THANK THEM AND ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE CRPD during the Senate floor vote!
If your Senator voted against the CRPD, ASK THEM TO CHANGE THEIR MIND AND SUPPORT THE CRPD during the Senate floor vote!
The contact information for these Senators can be found here.
Voting for the passage of the CRPD:
Sen. Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Lugar (R-ID)
Sen. Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Kerry (D-MA)
Sen. Boxer (D-MA)
Sen. Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Webb (D-VA)
Sen. Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Coons (D-DE)
Sen. Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Udall (D-NM)
Voting against the passage of the CRPD:
Sen. Corker (R-TN)
Sen. Risch (R-ID)
Sen. Lee (R-UT)
Sen. Rubio (R-FL)
Sen. DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. Inhofe (R-OK)
Thanks for contacting your Senator today, and spreading the word!