Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The CRPD and Senate Process

I worked for a committee in the House and one in the Senate. One hundred Senators have the same 24 hours a day that the 435 House Representatives have, but the Senators must focus on the needs of all state constituents, not just those in one district. And, Senators must be informed about or be prepared to be informed about the same number of issues as House members. These raw facts mean that Senate staffers who are content experts, especially those on committees, wield a lot of influence. Senators just do not have the time in a day to stay on top of everything.

Given these circumstances, how does an issue become a Senate priority and gain momentum? Certainly the persuasiveness, brains, and commitment of key staff are a factor. So too is the pressure from constituents. Both of these factors played a role in securing strong, educational hearings on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) last November. Up to that point things were textbook perfect.

Now there has been a four month lull of no visible Senate activity.  The result -- The impact of individuals telling stories about why the CRPD is important to them have been modest. The number of op eds that have made new or powerful arguments for the CRPD have been few. The television coverage that has occurred hasn't been that enlightening. Letters to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee written by important people, urging ratification, written in 2012, have resurfaced in social media. Things being tried do not appear to have the kind of traction we need to elevate ratification of the CRPD to the Senators' top ten list.

Let me share a little more about the Senate process.  Another factor that affects momentum in the Senate is when actual Senators, not staff, start talking to EACH OTHER about an issue. That is when an issue gains traction. That is when things start happening. And finally, once ideas get put on paper, get circulated and considered, when Senators are talking to each other, that's when things REALLY start happening. Evidence of Senators' involvement and interest in the CRPD would motivate staff and inspire those of us who want the CRPD ratified.

What we need is for each of the 61 Senators who support ratification of the CRPD to start talking about it, reaching out to Senators who don't yet (my estimate is 34, we need 6), putting ideas on paper, talking about them, getting them compiled, and polling on which ones have broad support. One former Senator from Delaware, Ted Kaufman, referenced THIS SUMMER as the time we are likely to see Senate action. Well, that time is not that far off. We need three things: (1) a Senate resolution (written document) on the CRPD, (2) a favorable vote on the resolution in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (a simple majority of Senators on the committee voting yes), and (3) a vote by all 100 Senators on the resolution, where at least 67 vote yes.

It's time for those critical conversations among Senators. If Senators do not assume some ownership of the fate of the CRPD now, it won't be ratified in this Congress. Historically, federal disability policy has been bipartisan. The right actions on the CRPD by the Senate could refresh and strengthen that pattern of bipartisanship.

You need do only one thing -- tell your Senator to talk to other Senators about the CRPD NOW.

Thank you.
Common Grounder


Monday, March 24, 2014

The $64,000 Question

On March 22, 2014, Ted Kaufman, a former U.S. Senator from Delaware (2009-2010, served out Joe Biden's term when Biden became Vice President) had an opinion piece in the News Journal (delawareonline.com).

The thing he said that stood out was -- Senators, who do not want the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to be ratified, do not like the United Nations. We do not know what that number actually is. There are 45 Republicans in the Senate. Of those, six Republicans are on the record as supporting ratification of the CRPD -- Ayotte (NH), Barrasso (WY), Collins (ME), Kirk (IL), McCain (AZ) and Murkowski (AK). That leaves 39 Republicans who could be UN haters, but I think not. Senators Hatch (UT), Corker (ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, from TN) and Alexander (TN) have gone on the record as opposing ratification of the CRPD PERIOD. They may or may not have raised the UN in their objections. If they did, it was probably in connection to their fear of the CRPD's impact on sovereignty -- our system of government as spelled out in the Constitution. These three -- Hatch, Corker, Alexander -- we need to scratch off as lost to us.
Others, Republican Senators on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- Risch, Rubio, Johnson, Flake, and Paul -- have raised substantive objections about the CRPD doing such things as expanding abortion rights or weakening sovereignty, but they have not said they flat out oppose UN treaties. Other Senators like Cruz (has sovereignty concerns) and Lee (has concerns about challenges to parents' rights, among other issues) have not done a full assault on the UN. So that is eight Senators who have substantive objections that they have expressed in hearings or the media. These eight represent people to talk to and ask -- what would it take to eliminate their opposition to the CRPD? We need to know.

That leaves 26 Republicans who may or may not have a "no-way" attitude toward a UN treaty. We need a poll of this 26 Senators too.

Here's what I think we will learn. Some of these Senators would like to draft language to address their concerns and be recognized for it. Some would say they will decide once they see the language in a draft resolution on the CRPD. And, maybe one or two Senators will actually say they would not support anything coming from the UN.  What this tells me is that there are at least 34 Republicans who would be willing to help draft a CRPD resolution or read it and then decide, IF THEY WERE APPROACHED by Senators who support the CRPD.

There are 53 Democrats and two Independents who support the CRPD. So, with 61 Senators (53 Democrats, 6 Republicans, and 2 Independents) whom we know will vote for the CRPD, we need six more. If the 34 Republicans I mentioned are approached in good faith, I am sure we will find more than six to support ratification. But, FIRST, they need to be asked to help and then be given the time to read a draft.

We can do this.

Thank you.
Common Grounder

Sunday, March 23, 2014

NEED 67 VOTES TO RATIFY THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (CRPD)



RESULTS OF THE DEC 4, 2012 SENATE VOTE ON THE CRPD
AND
INDICATION OF SEATS CHANGED IN NOV 2012 ELECTION

YEAs—61

Akaka (D-HI)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM),  retired Heinrich (D)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brown (R-MA),  defeated by Warren (D)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND),  retired; replaced by  Heitkamp (D) 
Coons (D-DE)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA),   replaced by Markey (D)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI),  retired; replaced by   Baldwin (D)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ), died; replaced by Booker (D)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT),  retired; replaced by Murphy (D)
Lugar (R-IN),  retired; replaced by Donnelly (D)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE), retired; replaced by Fischer (R)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Snowe (R-ME),  retired; replaced by King (I)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA), retired;  replaced by Kaine (D)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)


NAYs —38

Alexander (R-TN)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC), retired; replaced by Scott (R)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hutchison (R-TX), retired; replaced by Cruz (R)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ), retired; replaced by Flake (R)
Lee (R-UT)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)


Not voting: Kirk (R-IL)

Need a simple majority to vote CRPD out of Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC).
Current members of Senate Foreign Relations Committee are in bold.
Highlighted in yellow are Republicans who currently support CRPD.