Senate Kills Disabilities Treaty

Even though a bipartisan group lobbied for the passage of a UN Disability Treaty, the US Senate failed to pass it. The treaty required a 2/3 majority to pass, but got only 61 votes, five short of the votes needed for passage. Proponents said that which has been signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, say that the treaty would help to bring the rest of the world up to US levels of support for people with disabilities. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole visited in his wheelchair to encourage republican support. But even he could not muster the support necessary. All 38 votes against ratifying the treaty were cast by republicans as can be seen in the official vote count from the US senate website. Only 8 republican senators, including John McCain, voted in favor of ratifying the treaty.