The CRPD and Senator Isakson

Did you know on February 19, 2014 Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., co-sponsored S. 2026, legislation to exempt U.S. athletes competing in the Olympics and Paralympics from paying taxes on the medals and prize money they bring home? The legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Chuck Shumer, D-N.Y., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and John Hoeven, R-N.D. So? Senator Isakson and other co-sponsors value what U.S. athletes represent. Our pride. Our achievement. Our standing in the world. Could not the commitment of Senator Isakson and the other Senators be extended to helping us with the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)? I say yes, if we ask.

From visiting Senator Isakson's website, I get the sense that he is a practical man, a problem solver. He is not afraid of bipartisanship. He seems to have an appreciation of thinking out of the box and collaborating. In December 2013 with others from both sides of the isle and both the House and Senate, he launched, as co-chair with Senator Heitkamp and Reps. Farr and Jenkins, the Defense Communities Caucus. This caucus is focused on helping communities where military installations are located and where many veterans and their families, as well as those who are on active duty, live.  If veterans were to reach out to Senator Isakson on the CRPD, they may get a receptive ear. Those who have experience overseas or are planning to go could share stories about the impact of and need for shared policies on disability rights and accessibility.

Finally, Senator Isakson, is a member of two committees that are very important to people with disabilities -- the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Wouldn't it be of value to us to approach him now on the CRPD and begin to develop a long-term relationship with him, so we would have his ear when entitlement and rehabilitation issues come up on the committees on which he serves?

Here is his contact information:
Washington, D.C.: 202.224.3643
Atlanta:  770.661.0999
Website from which you may leave a message:  www.isakson.senate.gov
Twitter: @SenatorIsakson

There are potential allies in the Senate for ratification. Senator Isakson is one of them. Please contact him. I know he will listen. He cares about things that are important to us. Use them to start the conversation.

Thank you.
Common Grounder

The CRPD and Senator Chambliss

Senator Chambliss, from Georgia, is on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Vice Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is retiring at the end of 2014. What do these facts have to do with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities( CRPD)? Several things come to mind.

First, Senator Chambliss' work in the area of intelligence both in the House and Senate give him a sense of the importance of credibility, accuracy, cooperation, and timeliness when dealing with partners on intelligence. He understands the importance of connections among facts and among nations. Could not the ratification of the CRPD help in these matters? Ratification would clearly help our standing on the world stage in many arenas including those impacted by intelligence. It would surely not harm, but likely enhance, our collaboration with others. If we were to not ratify the CRPD other nations would question our true position on disability and human rights. And, who's to say this would not extend to how other nations view our position on intelligence gathering? Perhaps they would anticipate and expect that we would put limits on our cooperation and intelligence gathering simply for political reasons.

Second, Senator Chambliss has spent a lot of time with military personnel and their families. He knows the sacrifices they make and he knows the help they need. He also most likely knows that many veterans organizations strongly support the ratification of the CRPD. He clearly knows that there is an easier path for military personnel and veterans who go overseas if the country they are visiting or stationed in is on the same footing with regard to disability related issues as the U.S. This common footing will be more likely once we ratify the CRPD. Senator Chambliss' positions and votes with regard to military personnel and veterans have been based on a strong commitment to them, not to some political position.

Third, since Senator Chambliss is retiring this year he is reflecting on what will shape his legacy. Surely he wants to be remembered as a thoughtful statesman, a results-oriented legislator, and a man committed to helping his constituents access opportunities that strengthen them, their communities, and the broader economy. Ratification of the CRPD will make the world a better place far into the future. New opportunities will open up for businesses and people with disabilities, including veterans, across the world.

We need Senator Saxby Chambliss on the side of ratification of the CRPD. His record would suggest that is where he should be. Please contact him, especially if you are from Georgia, and ask him to join in support of the ratification of the CRPD. If you are a veteran or member of the military please contact him and ask him to support the ratification of the CRPD. He cares. Help bring him to our side.

Here are his telephone numbers:

Washington D.C. Office: 202-224-3521
North Georgia Office: 770-763-9090
East Georgia Office:  706-650-1555
Middle Georgia Office:  478-741-1417
Toll free: 800-234-4208
South Georgia Office:  229-985-2112

Like him on Facebook and leave him a message (Saxby Chambliss).

Send him an email by going to www.chambliss.senate.gov and hit the "contact me" link.

Thank you.
Common Grounder

CRPD: Two Suggestions Whose Time Has Come

Some Senators have single, substantive objections to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Other Senators have not voiced either support or objection because, as they point out, they have not seen the text of a draft resolution on the CRPD. We can work with these two circumstances. We can turn things around, build momentum, and achieve ratification within a reasonable amount of time.

First, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Menendez, has a good sense of who the single-issue Senators are. I urge the Chairman to ask each of these single-issue Senators to give him draft language on that one issue. Perhaps, the Chairman could ask those Senators with the same single issue to submit something jointly to him. Another option -- the Chairman could choose to reach out to one single-issue Senator on each issue for draft language just to save time. Either way, if agreement is reached on even one issue, then that's one more valuable vote. These single-issue Senators, to whom the Chairman reaches out, need not be on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Second, once the Chairman has a draft of the CRPD resolution, he should share it with everyone, Senators on and off of his committee. The single-issue Senators, who contributed to it, should be recognized in what is circulated.

Transparency, openness, and evidence of partnership are tools that will help us get to ratification.

These two suggestions should be embraced with vigor right now. They are worth trying. The status quo is in need of a jolt.

Thank you.
Common Grounder

The CRPD and Conventional Thinking

No one who has read any of my earlier posts doubts where I stand on the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). I am for it, and the sooner the better. The latest conventional thinking is that it is better if a mark up and floor action occur after the primaries and the Supreme Court Decision in the Bond case. Huh? Does anyone think that politicians who win out over Tea Party candidates will be more inclined to support ratification? Or, that if they lose to such candidates they will be more likely to support ratification? The former will want to shore up their base. The latter will be too depressed to care. As for the Bond case, it was absurd that the federal government got involved in a love triangle that should have been left to the state. By the time the Supreme Court rules, carves new legal precedents or chooses not to, and the CRPD opponents write legally convoluted arguments to connect it to the CRPD, we will be into the summer recess and all politicians will be campaigning for the mid-term elections. Does anyone really think the CRPD will be on ANYBODY's radar by then?

Conventional thinking also says that the time we have till the end of June can be put to good use -- sharing lots of personal stories connected to the CRPD and working on getting to 67 Senators or more for a successful vote. Finally, conventional thinking says we must keep the pressure on the Senators -- show them we have lots of momentum. The problem is momentum builds when people see progress. It is impossible to build or sustain momentum when there is a strategically calculated lull or vacuum.

Tony Coelho has said, "Get mad!" Well, maybe he's right. Waiting till July and making contact with Senators, knowing that nothing will happen till then, assumes that we are stupid or as the Brits would say, "One sandwich short at a picnic."

Thank you.
Common Grounder

Senator Flake and the CRPD

In some corners of the Senate, bipartisanship is alive and well. On February 10, 2014 Senator Jeff Flake and Senator Patrick Leahy wrote an opinion piece in MiamiHerald.com, "Time for a New Cuba Policy". Both senators are on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy, from Vermont, is the Democrat Chairman of the Committee. Flake is a Republican from Arizona. The opinion piece is clear, factual, and certainly forward thinking. Flake is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is my hope Senator Flake will find colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with whom he can work, ideally Senator Menendez, the Chairman, and his Republican colleagues (Barrasso and McCain) on the Committee who support the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and offer to be the Republican lead in negotiations. If that would happen, it is more likely that we would get to a bipartisan package on reservations, understandings, and declarations on the CRPD more quickly.

There are parallels between what Senator Flake and Senator Leahy are suggesting in their opinion piece and what we hope to achieve with ratification of the CRPD. They urge opening up travel opportunities between the U.S. and Cuba. They urge the removal of restrictions on businesses. They reference the importance of bilateral exchanges on issues. These topics have relevance for us if we were to ratify the CRPD. If the Obama administration would endorse and implement their suggestions with regard to the policy on Cuba and we were to ratify the CRPD, tourist trade that includes people with disabilities would increase between the U.S. and Cuba. Businesses that market assistive technology would have new marketing opportunities in Cuba. The principles of freedom, equal opportunity, and accessibility for people with disabilities could be discussed between the two governments and civil society, and perhaps influence Cuba's position on human rights in general.

I suspect no one raised the connection between a new Cuba policy and the CRPD with Senator Flake when he and Senator Leahy were drafting their opinion piece on Cuba. Now that I have put these connections in this post I hope that Senator Flake will consider them, use his considerable skills and strong interest in international harmony, and help us secure, in a bipartisan manner, ratification of the CRPD. We need more Republican champions. We need a Republican to lead the Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee back to the negotiating table. Senator Flake may be that man.

Please join me in urging him to take the job.

Here is his contact information:
His telephone numbers -
In D.C.: 202.224.4521
In Phoenix: 602-840-1891
In Tucson: 520-575-8633

His Twitter name is @JeffFlake

If you want to schedule a meeting contact DCscheduling@flake.senate.gov.

If you want to visit his website: www.flake.senate.gov. From this site you send him a message when you click on "Contact Jeff".

Thank you.

Common Grounder

CRPD Ratification: We Don't Need Perfect, Just Progress

Having read the papers this morning, I learned that the House breaks Thursday so the Democrats can have their annual retreat (Republicans had theirs a few weeks ago.). Then both Senators and House Representatives go home and don't come back to Washington, D.C. until February 26th. According to the Secretary of the Treasury, Jack Lew, the government loses its authority (i.e., flexibility to shift money around and pay bills) to spend money on February 27th. With every day that passes more and more time will be spent on the fall mid-term elections. The statistics look very good for the Republicans to retain the House and to make gains, and perhaps, take over leadership in the Senate. 

These seemingly random facts make a point. There will never be the right or perfect time to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).  We have been told that substantial efforts have been made to develop a fully bipartisan resolution on the CRPD. They have not succeeded to date. There will always be competition for political space. Those who support the CRPD outnumber those who oppose the CRPD in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So why not proceed to a mark up with a known majority? We need progress. It will help us sustain momentum and grow it.

Contact Senator Menendez (202.224.4744; Twitter: @Senator Menendez). Ask about the status of ratification negotiations and suggest that he proceed to a mark up.

Thank you.

Common Grounder

CRPD: Momentum and Faith

The second and last hearing on the CRPD was November 21st of last year. We clearly showed our support  and appreciation for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee actions to that point. Now we are being asked to show our support for further action by contacting all Senators once again.

The opposition assumes we are out of steam and almost out of time because of  the mid-term election cycle. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee thinks we have an unlimited amount of patience and don't need a sign, any sign, that conversations are still going on between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans have not voiced a chorus of "there is no way I can support ratification", but no one on the Republican side has stepped up to lead the Republicans back to the negotiation table.

We have taken a lot on the chin and on faith in the last 10 weeks. If Senators want us to get all charged up and set our hair on fire, we need at least:

1. A meeting or conference call with Senator Menendez to get a clear picture of where things stand and how we can help.

2. A tentative date for a mark up of a CRPD resolution in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee so we know what we have and continue to work for will make it to the next rung on the ladder.

3. Some concrete indication that those in the Senate, who support the CRPD, will help us in our outreach to find more Senators to get a 67 or better affirmative vote count on the Senate floor.

Securing the ratification of the CRPD is not our job alone now. It's everyone's job if we believe in the principles on which the Constitution was based and the need to restore U.S. standing as a leader on human rights and a champion of freedom. 

Look for a response to or evidence of the three points enumerated here. Enlist your friends and family. Then act.

Thank you.

Common Grounder