CRPD: We Don't Need a Cliff Hanger, We Need Action Now

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee must mark up a resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on July 16th and the full Senate must vote on the resolution before the end of July.

Those who support ratification of the CRPD have worked hard, long, and made every possible case for ratification over the last two years. They have been patient. They have respected and taken direction from senators and staff. They anticipated that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would mark up the resolution on July 16th. According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee website the CRPD resolution is not on the agenda for that date.

The current situation is beyond credulous. The Supreme Court resolved the sovereignty question in Bond vs. United States. Those who oppose the CRPD realize that if they can delay things through the month of July that, in all probability, any Senate action on a CRPD resolution is dead in 2014. And if the media pundits are accurate, there's the possibility that the Democrats may lose control of the Senate in the next election, November 2014. If that were to occur then, in all likelihood, there would be no action on the CRPD for a very long, long time. Senator Harkin is the only senator who seems to fully appreciate these stark assessments.

It's time to move. It's time to show courage. Whatever the state of negotiations are, I say to senators, STOP. Have a committee mark up. The votes are there. Have a floor vote. If there are amendments to the CRPD resolution, deal with them one at a time in PUBLIC. Enough of the "behind the scenes" stuff. The strategy in effect now is PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE OPPOSITION.

It's time to be honest. It's time to call the fence-sitters to account. There is no reason to wait unless we want to embrace failure. I don't. You don't. Tell the Senate to act.

Thank you.

Pat Morrissey

New Kindle book --  A Moral Imperative:  U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Book link: http://t.co/Vigyant7aM

If you are interested in supporting the ratification of the disability rights treaty, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also check out:
www.disabilitytreaty.org
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Blog: www.wecandothisifwetry.blogspot.com
Twitter: @AuntPip