WASHINGTON — Led by Republican
opposition, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nationstreatyon
the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark Americans
with Disabilities Act.
With 38 Republicans casting “no” votes,
the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to
ratify a treaty. The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere,
with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the
podium. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a
wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty.
The treaty, already signed by 155 nations
and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany,
China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the
disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow
citizens. Republicans objected to taking up a treaty during the
lame-duck session of the Congress and warned that the treaty could pose a
threat to U.S. national sovereignty.
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