Senate Republicans vote against treaty to benefit the disabled.

[No Elephants]

Senate Republicans Vote Down International Disabilities Treaty

By Hayes Brown on Dec 4, 2012 at 1:53 pm

The U.S. Senate today killed the ratification of a United Nations treaty designed to improve the prospects of those with disabilities around the world by a vote of 61-38, ending the best chance of any significant treaty making its way through the lame duck session. All “no” votes came from Republicans and the measure fell just five votes short of achieving the two-thirds of the Senate approval required for passage.

In voting down the Convention on the Rights of People with Disability, Senate Republicans have rejected a treaty based principally around the United States’ own Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which passed 91-6 in 1990. The major provisions of the treaty were modeled after ADA’s requirements of providing equal access to all citizens regardless of disability; it’s passage also would have given the United States a seat on a committee charged with aiding in implementation.

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So let’s be clear: the Disabilities Convention is a non-discrimination treaty. It won’t create any new rights that do not otherwise exist in our domestic law. What are the U.S. obligations under this Treaty? Simple: prevent discrimination on the basis of disability only with respect to rights that are already recognized and implemented under U.S. law. In other words — keep doing what we already have done for the 22 years since we proudly passed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Opposition to new treaties has become endemic among Republicans. GOP obstruction also lead to the blocking of the Convention on the Law of the Sea during this session, despite the united support of business and military leaders behind it. The near failure also implies that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, both opposed by the 2012 GOP Platform, won’t be moving forward anytime soon.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/12/04/1279921/senate-republicans-vote-down-international-disabilities-treaty/?mobile=nc


Oh, great. So, Senate Republicans stopped us from signing a treaty that, in essence, requires other nations to treat the disabled as well as we have treated the disabled for 27 years. God forbid we support something that helps disabled American tourists when they travel abroad, even if we are required to do nothing new ourselves.

And thank heaven the Republicans seem likely to vote down treaties on women's rights and children's rights.

Good grief.

Secede already.

[No Elephants]

1. P.S. Kerry said it was his saddest day in the Senate. (He's been a Senator since 1985.)

Many disabled war veterans came to the Senate to support the bill, from a frail Bob Dole (WW II) to disabled veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Enthusiast]

2. Maybe they are little slow

to modify their message. This could become a public relations disaster for them. I hope it does.

[formercia]

3. Sick fuckers.

Just remember, it took some Dems to defeat it too...or am I wrong?..Please tell me I'm wrong.

[No Elephants]

4. Yes and no, or, rather, yes and I don't know.

The Constitution says that the President can enter into a treaty on behalf of the U.S. with the advice and consent of 2/3 of the U.S. Senators who are present when the vote is taken. The vote was 61-38, so I take it that 99 Senators were present. So, this could have happened without a single Democratic Senator's vote.

Whether any Democratic Senator did vote with the Republicans, however is a different question. It is possible because I do know that some Republicans, like McCain, voted to authorize the President to enter into this treaty on behalf of the U.S. From the press, I would say only Republicans defeated this, though. If you want to research it for sure, the Senate bill number was S7365-79.

[formercia]

7. I would rather kvetch than fetch.

Thanks for the info. I forgot about the 2/3 vote.

[Divine Discontent]

5. Lawrence O'Donnell on the rewrite of the Senate's day of shame

http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/05/odonnell-rewrites-the-senates-day-of-shame/


fantastic. pretty long, but enjoyable. I also enjoyed his NFL Costas rewrite that you can see after the disability video ends, just look for Costas's head and click, if interested.

[No Elephants]

6. I think they believe that, some day, they may relieve both government

and the job creators of the obligations imposed by the American With Disabilities Act.

And, if that day ever comes, having the U.S. be a party to the treaty would be annoying.