AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

November 27, 2012

Issue

Senator Harry Reid Says the Vote on UN Treaty Will be THIS Week!

Details

According to Senator Reid the Senate will vote to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by the end of the week.  If this treaty is ratified it will become the supreme law of the land.  This United Nations treaty will undermine parental rights and our very Constitution.  U.S ratification of the CRPD would subject our domestic law to United Nations standards and oversight.

Ignoring the fact CRPD will undermine American sovereignty, too many disabilities and veterans groups have bought the lies that this treaty will do a better job of protecting persons with disabilities than the Americans With Disabilities Act.   Additionally, it has not received the necessary study and legal review that it requires

Thirty-six Senators have signed a letter stating that they “respectfully request that no treaties be brought to the Senate floor for advice and consent during the lame-duck session of the 112th Congress.” These Senators have promised in the letter that they “will oppose efforts to consider a treaty during this time.”  Senator Reid has purposefully ignored this letter by promising to file cloture (so the filibuster cannot be used) and will make every attempt to proceed to the CRPD for ratification this week.

Thirty-six is not enough to stop a cloture vote – that takes forty – and these thirty-six have not pledged to vote “No” on the treaty. They have only pledged to oppose its coming to the floor. If CRPD comes to the floor anyway, we have no guarantee that we have the votes to stop it.

Senator Pat Toomey is one of the thirty-six to sign the letter to Senator Reid, but again this is not a promise to vote ‘No’ on the treaty, but simply a promise to vote ‘No’ on cloture.

More information of CRPD can be found here.

Action Steps

Contact Senator Toomey using the webform here or calling his district office nearest you.  Find that by clicking here.  This is the message you need to deliver:  “Vote ‘no’ on cloture for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but also vote ‘no’ if the treaty reaches the floor of the Senate for a ratification vote. This treaty surrenders U.S. sovereignty to unelected UN bureaucrats and will threaten parental care of children with disabilities. Our nation already has laws to protect disabled Americans. This treaty is unnecessary and will hurt families. If the Senate ratifies this treaty, it would be the first time ever that the U.S. has ratified a treaty that obligates us to recognize economic, social, and cultural entitlements as rights under domestic law.”

Contact Senator Bob Casey, Jr. using the webform here or calling his regional office nearest you.  Find it here.   This is the message:  “Vote ‘no’ on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This treaty surrenders U.S. sovereignty to unelected UN bureaucrats and will threaten parental care of children with disabilities. Our nation already has laws to protect disabled Americans. This treaty is unnecessary and will hurt families. If the Senate ratifies this treaty, it would be the first time ever that the U.S. has ratified a treaty that obligates us to recognize economic, social, and cultural entitlements as rights under domestic law.”

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