CRPD: There's Always Tomorrow

"There's always tomorrow". That was Scarlett O'Hara's mantra in the movie classic, Gone with the Wind. That seems to be where Senate Majority Leader Reid is on giving us a vote on the CRPD before the Senate closes down.

The Senate is likely to shut its doors on Friday, instead of September 23rd. Senator Reid's staff has said he is willing to hold a vote on the CRPD when the Senate returns on November 12th after the elections (November 4th), IF WE GUARANTEE HIM THAT THERE ARE THE 6 more votes in the yes column to get us to the 67 we need for ratification. Nice. A vote in September would give us the information we need to galvanize us to vote, get our friends to vote, and lay the ground work for a great future -- where elected officials focus on what is important to us.

I have several theories.

One, although for different reasons, neither Democrats (Harkin being an exception)
nor Republicans (Ayotte being an exception) are crazy about a vote on the CRPD.

Two, neither Democrats nor Republicans see any connection between a vote on the CRPD and re-election prospects and their control of the Senate.

Three, in November-December Democrats and Republicans will have new justifications for not holding a vote on the CRPD. For example, the Senate will be in from November 12 to 20, before breaking for Thanksgiving. Do you think during that time that ratifying the CRPD will even be on anyone's radar? And with Christmas looming in December, come on!

So what do we do?

One, between now and Election Day attend town hall meetings of every incumbent. Ask how he will vote on the CRPD. Ask what he will do to help get us get a vote in November. If he doesn't give specifics, ask for them. Whatever answer(s) you get should influence your vote. Whatever answer(s) you get you should broadcast on social media. On Twitter use #CRPD.

Two, contact Senator Reid's office and ask, if we are going to get a vote, on what day it will be, then broadcast what you learn in social media, even if you get a vague answer.

Three, keep calling Senate offices. Ask what the Senator's position on the CRPD is and broadcast it on social media. If the Senator is for ratification of the CRPD, ask what he plans to do to get us a vote. Broadcast what you learn on social media.

You have the ability to turn things in our favor. The folks inside the beltway (myself included) could have been smarter, faster, or more clever. Now it really is your turn. Please make the time count.

Thank you.
Common Grounder

CRPD: If Senators Reid and McConnell Were Smart

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) has one thing at the top of his list – hoping/working to see that the Democrats retain control of the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, KY) has two – getting re-elected in November and working to secure control of the Senate. In tight races a vote on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) this month could directly affect specific races and control of the Senate. Reid and McConnell need to realize this.

First the numbers. Every two years 33/34 Senators out of 100 face re-election. This year 36 Senate races are in play, because of three special elections. The states in which Senate elections will occur are AL, AK, AR, CO, DE, GA, HI (special), ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OK (special), OR, RI, SC (special), SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WY. (I highlighted those that are really in play.)  Currently Democrats hold 21 of these seats and Republicans hold 15 seats. It will take a six seat-shift for the Republicans to take control of the Senate. If the November 2014 election results in a 50-50 split, Democrats would retain control, because Vice President Joe Biden, the President of the Senate, could break any tie vote counts.

Democrats have a 10 Senator advantage, 55, 53 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with them (Sanders (VT) and King (ME)). Six to 12 seats are in play according to many sources. The most recent are http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/opinion/a-bigger-midterm-election-turnout.html?_r=0 and
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/here-are-the-12-most-competitive-senate-races-in-the-country/2014/09/14/98a4ae9a-3c1b-11e4-b0ea-8141703bbf6f_story.html. Republicans are estimated to hold the advantage by many sources who track polls, but www.RealClearPolitics.com shows the Democrats gaining leads in many contested races.

There 54 million people with disabilities in the U.S. Let’s assume for the sake of discussion a conservative 5.4 million know and care about the CRPD, and a measly 3 million vote this fall. Even though this estimate is modest, remember they have friends and relatives to whom they talk, who also vote. Then you have the veterans, business, and religious groups who have made CRPD a priority. So, in total we could have 5 million votes or more in play: voters, who vote for Senators, because the Senators voted for ratification of the CRPD; voters, who vote against Senators, because the Senators voted against the CRPD; AND, POTENTIAL VOTERS, WHO STAY HOME AND DON’T VOTE, IF THERE IS NO VOTE IN SEPTEMBER ON THE CRPD.

Here’s my take are where a vote in favor of the CRPD could help the incumbent:

Alaska.  Senator Mark Begich (D, AK) had things shifting in his favor till he associated his opponent with a killer, who killed two elderly people after an early release from prison. Begich's move has back-fired. The race is once again neck-in-neck. He should be urging Senator Reid for a CRPD vote to return to a more favorable footing with his voters. Disability organizations are very politically active in Alaska.

Arkansas.  Senator Mark Pryor (D, AR) is a centrist, in a dead heat with his opponent. He knows, like his father before him, that in mid-term elections like this year, the Republican base historically comes out in greater numbers than Democrat base. He should be saying to Senator Reid, “If you want to hold the Senate, you need to help me turn out my base. A vote on the CRPD would help make that happen.”

Kansas.  If Pat Roberts (R, KS) wants to keep his seat, he should want a vote on the CRPD in September. Senator Dole (former Senate Majority Leader, disabled vet, from Kansas) has urged Roberts to vote for the CRPD. Roberts has no Democrat opponent now, and his independent challenger is attracting many Democrat in addition to Independent votes. Roberts needs votes that show he has moved in the right direction on important issues like the CRPD.

Kentucky.  If Senator Rand Paul (R, KY), likely Republican presidential contender can shift to more moderate positions, as he has in recent days, Senator McConnell should welcome and push for  a vote on the CRPD in September to show he is a leader that Kentucky doesn’t want to lose. The disability and veteran communities are strong, politically active, and watching to see if McConnell has the wisdom to help get the CRPD to a vote.

Louisiana. Senator Mary Landrieu (D, LA) although safe in terms of absolute percentages, is likely to face a run off if she fails to get 50 percent in the open primary. If she were willing to speak up on the CRPD and ask Reid for a floor vote on the CRPD, that could get her the 2 to 3 percentage points she needs to get to 50 percent. In her state the disability community is savvy and inspired by leadership moves.

Mississippi. Thad Cochran (R, MI) learned through his primary the benefits of moving to the mainstream. A vote on the CRPD would help him secure his support among mainstream voters, people who care about civil rights.

North Carolina.  Senator Kay Hagan (D, NC) strongly supports the military and veterans. She should be urging Senator Reid to be holding a floor vote on the CRPD. She knows that 20+ national veterans groups actively support the CRPD and her Republican opponent is within striking distance of beating her as things are.

Those of us in the disability community want a vote on the CRPD in September. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell need to take the long view. If they want to be viewed as leaders they must be willing to make smart choices. A vote on the CRPD promises some positive outcomes for both of them in the short term and for the U.S. in the long term. Failing to join hands and hold a vote will alienate potential voters – because the Senate will demonstrate its inability to act on something that makes so much sense.

If you agree with me, please let Senators Reid and McConnell know.

Thank you.

Common Grounder

CRPD: We Need a Gang of Six

As the window starts to close for us, I think of  several  types of Senators who could help us. First are those up for election. Being an elected official is no easy job. As such a person must spend a lot of time on what is important to his or her base. For after all, the base is what got the person elected in the first place, especially in a primary situation. The general election is coming up, November 4th. In a general election, every politician relies on that all important base, but in a tight race, there is a second group -- politicians who need to attract additional voters. Third, there are  politicians who are retiring. These people need to think about legacy, having the opportunity to vote on something significant, with longstanding implications, at the end of their public service. Finally, there are elected officials, who value being viewed as being thoughtful and being problem solvers, people who breakthrough an impasse. From these four groups could come our helpers.

In these critical days in September we need a gang of six, who go public as a group, and say why they now support the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). There are Senators, who faced tight primaries, but won. There are Senators, who face tight races, as we approach November. There are Senators, who are retiring, and want to beef up their legacy. There are Senators who take pride in their ability to bring colleagues together to solve problems.

There is a gang of six out there. They know an overwhelming group of Americans from diverse segments -- disability, veterans, business, human rights, and religious organizations -- have been advocating frequently, forcefully for ratification. They know all issues have been addressed. They know federalism, sovereignty, access to reproductive health care, and parents rights to homeschool will not now or in the future be undone if the Senate were to ratify the CRPD.

These Senators need to step forward next week with courage and clarity and let America know where they stand. They need to let America know that its standing, credibility, and power to influence other nations in many areas will be enhanced through ratification of the CRPD.

If these six would step forward, we could proceed to that all important floor vote. Are you one of those six? Do you know one of those six? Now is your time to shine!

Thank you.
Common Grounder

CRPD: Five Days Left to Secure Ratification

To hear CNN tell it, there are three things happening in the world: reactions to President Obama's strategy to destroy the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISL, and who knows what other acronym); the unfolding story in Furgeson, MO; and whether the NFL Commissioner should be fired. All are legitimate stories. One affects our future with the likelihood of mission creep and another protracted war. Another reminds of us our failure to help, support, and celebrate young men of color. And the last, suggests that there are a lot of guys out there with big bucks that think domestic violence against women is a misdemeanor at most.

Is there room for anything else? Things of long lasting importance, perhaps? Here's hoping that the Senate can a take the time to ratify the resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities a (CRPD). Those of us that have promoted such action have done what we have been told to do. We have contacted and met with Senators and staff over and over again. We have addressed with facts all of the points raised by the opposition. We have detailed all the benefits ratification will trigger. And we have outlined the adverse effects if we do not join the 145 + nations that have ratified the CRPD.

If we've learned anything from CNN this week, it is this: context is important, balance is a challenge, and video can change they nation's mood on a dime. So what do we need to do? Ask 1,000 wheelchair users to crawl up the Capitol steps? Go home, forget about ratification of the CRPD, because it's not our turn, not our time? There's got to be a third, reasonable option -- like, Senators Reid and Menendez carving an hour out of the Senate calendar and having a vote on the CRPD. We need it. We deserve it.

If we are a nation founded on freedom, opportunity, and human rights, then taking a few minutes of Senate time to ratify the CRPD, would bring an element of credibility to all the calls for coalition building, don't you think?

Thank you.
Common Grounder

Now Parents, Who Homeschool Their Children, Should Support Senate Ratification of the CRPD: New Senate CRPD Resolution Addressed Their Concern

The Senate will recess on September 23^rd, and not return until after the elections, November 4^th. In the lame duck session that begins after the elections, there’s not a snowball’s chance that the Senate will schedule a floor vote on the resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). So our best chance is from now until September 23^rd.

The group who could help us get to a floor vote and get at least the 67 votes we need to ratify the CRPD are parents who homeschool their children. They have been a visible, effective force in opposition to the CRPD. The principle reason for this is that the text in the first resolution, which failed to pass in the Senate on December 4, 2012, did not clearly express their right to homeschool their children. Well, Senator Barrasso, a supporter of the CRPD, heard them loud and clear. He offered text to the CRPD resolution in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee mark up. It was accepted and became part of the final resolution on July 22, 2014. You can read the words below. The changes made in 2014 are highlighted.

Best Interests of the Child Understanding in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, July 31, 2012	Best Interests of the Child Understandings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, July 28, 2014
(8) The United States of America understands that, for the United States of America, the term or principle of the ‘‘best interests of the child’’ as used in Article 7(2), will be applied and interpreted to be coextensive with its application and interpretation under United States law. Consistent with this understanding, nothing in Article 7 requires a change to existing United States law.	(8) The United States of America understands that, for the United States of America, the term or principle of the ‘‘best interests of the child’’ as used in Article 7(2), will be applied and interpreted to be coextensive with its application and interpretation under United States law. Consistent with this understanding, nothing in Article 7 requires a change to existing United States Federal, State, or local law.
	(9) Nothing in the Convention limits the rights of parents to homeschool their children.

There are so many provisions in the CRPD that are in line with what parents, who homeschool, want for their families and children. These parents love the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act’s birthdays, and are likely to embrace the newly reauthorized Rehabilitation Act. These are laws that would be our basis for complying with the CRPD.

I think many do not realize the victory they achieved through Senator Barrasso’s text. Its specificity is unprecedented. If the CRPD were to be ratified by the Senate, these parents could suggest to parents in other countries, which do not allow parents to homeschool, to consider using such language to secure permission to homeschool.

I urge you to share the Barrasso text with parents who homeschool and ask them to join us in securing Senate ratification of the CRPD. There’s not a minute to waste.

Thank you.

Common Grounder

The CRPD and the Final Push

We all have faced situations where the odds were against us. Yet, we knew if we didn't try, we would never know if we could have affected the outcome. Put another way, if we took no action, we knew what the outcome would be. But, if we took action, however it turned out, we knew we had tried. We are in such a situation now with regard to ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Senators return tomorrow to Washington, D.C. Mondays and Fridays are usually travel days and a Jewish religious holiday begins sundown September 24th. So the way I calculate things, we have eight days to work with. After that, the Senate breaks until after the elections on November 4th. After the elections, the Senate will probably return for a lame duck session. The climate then will be highly charged, because control of the Senate may be changing in January 2015. Will we see evidence of bipartisanship this year in November and December after the elections? No way! And, if control of the Senate shifts to the Republicans in January 2015, we can kiss good-bye any action on the CRPD for two years, for sure.

This blog has had over 16,000 views since it's start in August 2013. That's a lot of eyes, a lot of spectators. I am very pleased. How many different spectators read this blog, we'll never know. We do know the eyes that have read this blog are from all over the world. Most are from the U.S. The next largest views outside the U.S. are from China (603), Ukraine (369), and France (342).

Well, in September we don't need U.S. spectators, we need U.S. players, people willing to barrage Senator Menendez, Chairman of the Senate a Foreign a Relations Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and demand a vote on ratification of the CRPD BEFORE SEPTEMBER 24th. It's that simple. The facts have been disseminated. The points and counterpoints have been made. The fear spreaders have been exposed. The absurdities in the anti-CRPD arguments have been explained away.

It comes down to whether we have it in us to make this final push and, when we do, will the Senate leadership take us seriously and give us a vote.

Please begin your contacting tomorrow and keep it up till sundown on September 24th or until we get what we want, which ever comes first.

Here are the numbers:

Senator Menendez:  202.224.4744
Senator Reid:  202.224.3542

Thank you.
Common Grounder

CRPD and Senator Hatch

On July 10, 2013 Senator Hatch made a statement on the Senate floor that took a lot of us by surprise – he opposed ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). He has always been a stronger supporter for and an influencer of U.S. disability policy. He was one of the first Senators, if not the first, to have a standing committee of disability experts and advocates back home in Utah, led for a long time by Dr. Marvin Fifield, which advised him on disability policy. Senator Hatch had a staff member, Chris Lord, who was directly involved in much of the major disability legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. Committee staffers, like me, saw Senator Hatch, as a smart man who could be counted on to find the words to resolve many legislative impasses. He was like Smith-Barney (an investment firm) that had as its tag line – “When Smith-Barney speaks everyone listens.”

Recently there has been pressure on Senator Hatch to join the pro-CRPD ratification team (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/58293709-82/treaty-disabilities-veterans-support.html.csp). This is for two reasons. First, he understands and has helped draft most disability law that is on the books. Second, as a legal expert, with extensive experience on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including as its Chairman in the past, he knows inside and out how our Constitution, laws, and system of government work.

Well, he’s given us another surprise. He had an op-ed piece in the Salt Lake Tribune on August 29, 2014 -- Disabilities treaty would put U.N. in control of U.S. (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/58348861-82/treaty-crpd-disabilities-nations.html.csp).

Senator Hatch says –

Actions speak louder than words. For more than 40 years, the United States has led the world in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities by enacting and implementing laws that set real standards and help real people. Countries around the world have adopted legislation modeled after American statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. We should continue to lead by example.
 

I agree with that. Although, it will be increasingly difficult “to lead by example” going forward if we do not join the CRPD ratification club. One hundred and forty plus nations, which have ratified the CRPD, aren’t afraid of losing by joining together to promote disability rights.

Senator Hatch says –

Some advocates are urging… the United States to go down a different path by ratifying the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or CRPD. According to the U.N., nations that ratify the CRPD are legally bound to implement domestically the treaty’s "global legal standards" for the "civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres." The CRPD creates a committee of "experts" to interpret the treaty and tell ratifying nations what they must do to implement its global standards.

Multiple federal departments analyzed the CRPD and U.S. laws and determined that U.S. laws, federal and state laws, are sufficient as they are. In essence, our current domestic laws allow us to meet the standards in the CRPD. This fact is outlined in excruciating detail in the report President Obama sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May, 2012.

As for the U.N. CRPD Committee, the CRPD resolution that was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 22, 2014 includes an understanding that flat out says “…does not consider conclusions, recommendations, or general comments issued by the Committee [the U.N. CRPD Committee]…to be legally binding on the United States in any manner.” You can’t get much clearer than that. Senator Barrasso, a Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, proposed this text, which was approved by the Committee.

So no new laws are required. No U.N. Committee is going to tell us what to do.

Senator Hatch says –

Ratifying the CRPD would be a mistake for three reasons. First, the cost to American sovereignty and self-government outweighs any benefit to Americans or American national interests. Ratified treaties are "the supreme law of the land" with the same legal status as federal statutes and the Constitution. Ratifying the CRPD would endorse an ongoing role for the U.N. in evaluating and telling us how to conduct virtually every area of American life.

What Senator Hatch doesn’t acknowledge is that the CRPD is mostly about outcomes such as – non-discrimination, freedom, choices, and access and opportunities available to people with disabilities that are available to people without disabilities. The CRPD leaves to the nations that ratify it the flexibility to determine how they will achieve outcomes. Our laws, the ones we have now, will allow us to achieve the outcomes spelled out in the CRPD. So you could say the CRPD would become the supreme law of the land with regard to outcomes, but our specific laws would be how we show we achieve the outcomes. It is not an either-or circumstance or an override or replacement circumstance as Senator Hatch suggests.

Senator Hatch says –

In addition, the CRPD’s global standards would apply to every level of government – federal, state, and local. This conflicts with the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment which delegates certain powers to the federal government and reserves the rest to the states. Washington already imposes too many mandates and obligations on the states; we should not invite the United Nations to join in.
 

The CRPD resolution voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 22, 2014, includes a reservation that recognizes and lays out how our federalism system would respond to the CRPD. Some authority is in the hand of states, some in the hands of the federal government. Ratifying the CRPD will not undo or alter this balance of authority. As Senator Hatch knows well, any change in this balance would require legislation that would need to make it through House and Senate committees, the two chambers of Congress, and then make it to the President’s desk. And even then it could be subject to legal challenges and review by the Supreme Court, which won’t look favorably on challenges to the balance of power as spelled out in the Constitution. So, the probability of something like Senator Hatch describes happening is less than .01 percent.

Later in his opinion piece Senator Hatch says –

Second, the CRPD’s flaws cannot be corrected by adding caveats or conditions but only by removing some provisions and fundamentally changing others. The U.S., however, cannot re-negotiate the treaty’s provisions. The resolution of approval sent to the Senate by the Foreign Relations Committee, however, does include a list of caveats or conditions. These say, in effect, that the U.S. will define key terms such as "disability" the way we want, interpret the CRPD’s provisions the way we want, and accept only the obligations that we want. Why give the U.N. authority to say what our laws and practices should be if we plan to do what we want anyway?
 

Here too Senator Hatch fails to acknowledge the powerful and appropriate distinctions between outcomes and the means to achieve them. At the U.N. in the debate on how or if to define the term disability, there were hours of discussion about the value and need to allow nations to define disability through their laws. Here, as much as anywhere else, the U.N. understood the need to give nations flexibility.

Senator Hatch says –

 
Third, U.S. ratification is not necessary for continued U.S. leadership. In the two years that the CRPD has been before the Senate, 34 nations around the world have ratified it. Treaty supporters say that the treaty is modeled after the ADA and that nations will need help to implement it. The United States enacted the ADA in 1990 and revised it in 2008, years before the CRPD was sent to the Senate. The U.S. Agency for International Development has actively implemented development programs to help people with disabilities around the world for nearly two decades. We have been leading by example and helping other nations develop and implement sound disability policy long before the CRPD existed and will continue doing so without ratifying the treaty.

If the world were static, maybe this point made by Senator Hatch would have merit. But the world is not static. More and more countries have passed laws to facilitate their response to the CRPD. More and more committees are being formed to address specific issues. Just visit the U.N. Enabled website for confirmation (http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx?CountryCode=THA&Lang=EN). Disability NGOs are being given a greater say in how money is being spent by governments to improve the condition of persons with disabilities. If the U.S. ratifies the CRPD it will continue to be a player as Senator Hatch suggests. However, if it does not ratify the CRPD, its role and influence will diminish. Why? It comes down to perceived blatant arrogance. Other nations will think the U.S. doesn’t need to sign up, sign on, because the U.S. thinks it has all the answers. The U.S. thinks it can get others to listen, to do what it wants, because of potential financial rewards from U.S. coffers. It is in our national interest to make these perceptions go away.

As you look around the world and see the range of conflicts, do you think the U.S. has control? Influence? Perhaps if we were to ratify the CRPD we would discover we do have influence in new creative ways and bring about some peace.

I truly hope Senator Hatch finds his way to our side.

Thank you.

Common Grounder