Organizations advocating for disabled people and veterans were stunned on Tuesday after a large majority of Senate Republicans blocked the ratification of a U.N. treaty aimed at securing rights for disabled people around the world, including several senators who had previously pledged to support it, Foreign Policy’s Josh Rogin reports:
After months of diligent lobbying, these organizations were confident they had the support of several GOP senators who ended up opposing ratification of the U.N. Treaty on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
But GOP offices were flooded in the days leading up to the vote by calls from supporters of several rightwing groups, including Rick Santorum‘s Patriot PAC, the Family Research Council, and the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation.
In the end, the Senate voted 61-38, five votes short of the 66 needed to ratify the treaty.
