WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today voted to ratify a United Nations Treaty to prevent discrimination on the basis of a disability and ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to the physical environment, transportation, information, and communications generally provided to the public. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) urges nations signing the treaty to promote an inclusive education system at all levels and recognize the right of disabled persons to work on an equal basis with others.  It builds on the United State’s Americans with Disabilities Act, which Snowe supported in 1990 while in the U.S. House.

Senator Snowe spoke with former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) this morning, who was on the Hill seeking support for the treaty.  Dole has long been a leader in disability rights and Snowe was honored to serve as a board member of the Dole Foundation for Employment of Persons with Disabilities, while serving in the House of Representatives.  The treaty, now signed by more than 150 countries, was negotiated by President George W. Bush in 2006 and signed by President Obama in 2009. It required 66 votes to pass, and failed in the Senate today by a vote of 61 to 38.

Senator Snowe said:

“I strongly support the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and it is unconscionable that the treaty failed in the Senate. Disabled Americans and individuals across the globe deserve basic protections in law and the opportunity to live full and rewarding lives. The Americans with Disabilities Act, which I was honored to support in the U.S. House in 1990, has helped our country make great strides toward breaking down barriers for disabled Americans and this vital treaty builds upon those efforts.  I am confident we will continue to make progress in assuring all of our citizens can realize the American Dream and that disabled individuals in nations around the world have the rights they deserve.”

In 1990, then-Representative Snowe strongly supported the Americans with Disabilities Act. On July 16, 1990, more than 3,000 people attended the signing ceremony on the White House lawn as President George H. W. Bush signed the bill. Senator Snowe also served as a board member on former Senator Bob Dole’s Foundation for Employment of Persons with Disabilities from 1984 to 1987. 

In a speech on the Senate floor this morning, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) listed a number of veterans organizations supporting the treaty, including the Air Force Sergeants Association, Air Force Women Officers Association, the American GI Forum, the Association of the United States Navy, Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, among others.

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