<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A message from Jesse Hartle:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Good Afternoon,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am writing to let you know that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was </span>voted out of committee by <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the Senate Foreign Relations Committee</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">. As you know, the CRPD advances the non-discrimination principles contained in the American’s with Disabilities Act onto the world stage. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Many believe that a floor vote may come as early as next week. Since a treaty requires an affirmative vote from two-thirds of the members voting to be ratified, we must contact every Senate office and urge them to support the treaty. You can be connected to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand by calling the capitol switch-board at</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><a href="tel:202-225-3121" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0">202-225-3121</a><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> and asking for them</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jesse Hartle,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Government Programs Specialist<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Phone: <a href="tel:410-659-9314;2233" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1/0">410-659-9314, Ext. 2233</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Email: <a href="mailto:jhartle@nfb.org">jhartle@nfb.org</a></span></p></div></div></div></body></html>