Senate Republicans reject UN disabilities treaty

The Senate rejected the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday. The treaty would have created a new layer of bureaucracy on the international level to take care of disability issues. We're taking a closer look at this interesting story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Senate Rejects UN Disabilities Treaty

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

The treaty was aimed at banning discrimination and establishing international standards for the rights of disabled people. Sixty-one senators approved the international treaty, but the treaty failed to recieve a two-thirds majority with 38 Republican opposing votes.

Sen. John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed the Senate's rejection of the U.N. disabilities treaty:

"I said it does not change U.S. law; that is different from saying it doesn't do anything. If it didn't do anything I wouldn’t be here, nor would President Bush have signed it," he said, contending that the U.N. measure would benefit Americans living and traveling abroad.

"This is one of the saddest days I’ve seen in almost 28 years in the Senate," Kerry said in a statement following the vote. "It needs to be a wakeup call about a broken institution that's letting down the American people. We need to fix this place."

Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum opposed the treaty as a new post-election cause, calling it an "egregious move to deny parents of children with disabilities the right to do what they think is in their child’s best interest." 

However, eight Republicans approved the treaty following Senator Bob Dole's request.

Watch "The War Room" at 5E/2P with guest Michael Tomasky and "Viewpoint" tonight at 8E/5P for more on the treaty decision.

The community responds:

Leen61: "Ah yes, once again those religious, right wingers showing how much they care about people with disabilities."

AreOh: "Well, the Republicans seem dedicated to progressing into irrelevancy, so I say we just let them slide into oblivion. Their philosophies and platforms have already been soundly rejected by the majority of Americans, so if they want to cling to a sinking ship, by all means, cling."

northernexpat: "Because it is a treaty it requires 66 votes to pass, they only got 61. What a disgrace the Senate has turned into because the GOP fear being primaried by teabaggers."

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(Photo: Getty Images)