[nfbwatlk] From Anil Lewis

[Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)]

I'm sure we'll get this posted several times, but its important.  Thanks to Jerry Hathaway's post on another list.

:


Subject: [Chapter-presidents] Legislative Alert: Urgent Action needed on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)





The following is from Jesse Hartle





Fellow Federationists:





                We have been working to build support for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).  Ratification of the CRPD would solidify the United States as a global leader on disability rights, and protect Americans with disabilities who travel, work, study, or serve abroad.    The opposition has stated that the disability community is uninformed and does not really support the disability rights treaty.   The National Federation of the Blind must take action to urge our Senators to support this important initiative.  We believe that the Senate will take a vote on this treaty after the elections, and we are now partnering with over 250 disability groups to maximize the push for ratification of the CRPD treaty.





The NFB has been assigned next Wednesday October 24, 2012, as the first of our three days of action.  We would like to use this day to target members of the Senate through social media tools.  Below you will find a list of Twitter handles for members of the United States Senate, and a draft message to be used.  You should also try to get those who follow you on Twitter to retweet your messages to ensure a greater number of people learn about the treaty.  If you do not have a Twitter account, or your Senator does not have a Twitter account, we would like you to try and alert your Senator through their Facebook page; if you use Facebook be sure to tag the National Federation of the Blind in your post.  Please contact me with any questions.  I have included my contact information below the list of Twitter handles.  Thank you all very much for your hard work in advance on this important issue.







Draft Message (144 characters):



I am a blind person who supports the #CRPD. I urge @(insert Senators Handle) to support passage of this important policy for disabled Americans.





Alabama



Richard Shelby



@SenShelbyPress





Jeff Sessions



@SenatorSessions





Alaska



Lisa Murkowski



@lisamurkowski





Mark Begich



@SenatorBegich





Arizona



John McCain



@SenJohnMcCain





Jon Kyl



@SenJonKyl





Arkansas



Mark Pryor



@SenMarkPryor





John Boozman



@JohnBoozman





California



Dianne Feinstein



@SenFeinstein





Barbara Boxer



@SenatorBoxer





Colorado



Mark Udall



@MarkUdall





Michael Bennet



@SenBennetCO





Connecticut



Joe Lieberman



@JoeLieberman





Richard Blumenthal



@SenBlumenthal



Delaware



Tom Carper



@SenatorCarper





Chris Coons



@ChrisCoons





Florida



Bill Nelson



@SenBillNelson





Marco Rubio



@SenRubioPress





Georgia



Saxby Chambliss



NONE





Johnny Isakson



@SenatorIsakson





Hawaii



Daniel Inouye



@Daniel_Inouye





Daniel Akaka



@SenatorAkaka





Idaho



Mike Crapo



@MikeCrapo





Jim Risch



NONE





Illinois



Dick Durbin



@SenatorDurbin





Mark Kirk



@SenatorKirk





Indiana



Richard Lugar



@senatorlugar





Dan Coats



@SenDanCoats



Iowa



Chuck Grassley



@ChuckGrassley





Tom Harkin



@SenatorHarkin





Kansas



Pat Roberts



@SenPatRoberts





Jerry Moran



@JerryMoran





Kentucky



Mitch McConnell



@McConnellPress





Rand Paul



@SenRandPaul





Louisiana



Mary Landrieu



@SenLandrieu





David Vitter



@DavidVitter





Maine



Olympia Snowe



@SenatorSnowe





Susan Collins



@SenatorCollins





Maryland



Barbara Mikulski



@SenatorBarb





Ben Cardin



@SenatorCardin





Massachusetts



John Kerry



@JohnKerry





Scott Brown



@USSenScottBrown





Michigan



Carl Levin



@SenCarlLevin





Debbie Stabenow



@StabenowPress





Minnesota



Amy Klobuchar



NONE





Al Franken



@alfranken





Mississippi



Thad Cochran



@SenThadCochran





Roger Wicker



@SenatorWicker





Missouri



Claire McCaskill



@clairecmc





Roy Blunt



@RoyBlunt





Montana



Max Baucus



NONE





Jon Tester



@TesterPress





Nebraska



Ben Nelson



@SenBenNelson





Mike Johanns



@Mike_Johanns





Nevada



Harry Reid



@SenatorReid





Dean Heller



@SenDeanHeller





New Hampshire



Jeanne Shaheen



@JeanneShaheen





Kelly Ayotte



NONE





New Jersey



Frank Lautenberg



@FrankLautenberg





Bob Menendez



@SenatorMenendez





New Mexico



Jeff Bingaman



NONE





Tom Udall



@ChuckSchumer





New York



Chuck Schumer



@ChuckSchumer





Kirsten Gillibrand



@SenGillibrand





North Carolina



Richard Burr



@SenatorBurr





Kay Hagan



@SenatorHagan





North Dakota



Kent Conrad



NONE





John Hoeven



@SenJohnHoeven





Ohio



Sherrod Brown



@SenSherrodBrown





Rob Portman



@robportman





Oklahoma



Jim Inhofe



@InhofePress





Tom Coburn



@TomCoburn





Oregon



Ron Wyden



@RonWyden





Jeff Merkley



@SenJeffMerkley





Pennsylvania



Bob Casey, Jr.



@SenBobCasey





Pat Toomey



@SenToomey





Rhode Island



Jack Reed



@SenJackReed





Sheldon Whitehouse



@SenWhitehouse





South Carolina



Lindsey Graham



@GrahamBlog





Jim DeMint



@JimDeMint





South Dakota



Tim Johnson



@SenJohnsonSD





John Thune



@SenJohnThune





Tennessee



Lamar Alexander



@SenAlexander





Bob Corker



@SenBobCorker





Texas



Kay Bailey Hutchison



@kaybaileyhutch





John Cornyn



@JohnCornyn





Utah



Orrin Hatch



@SenOrrinHatch





Mike Lee



@SenMikeLee





Vermont



Patrick Leahy



@SenatorLeahy





Bernie Sanders



@SenSanders





Virginia



Jim Webb



NONE





Mark Warner



@MarkWarner





Washington



Patty Murray



@PattyMurray





Maria Cantwell



@CantwellPress





West Virginia



Jay Rockefeller



@SenRockefeller





Joe Manchin



@Sen_JoeManchin





Wisconsin



Herb Kohl



NONE





Ron Johnson



@SenRonJohnson





Wyoming



Mike Enzi



@SenatorEnzi





John Barrasso



@SenJohnBarrasso







Thank you everyone,





Jesse Hartle



NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND



Phone: 410-659-9314, Ext. 2233



Twitter: @JMHartleIII



Email: jhartle at nfb.org<mailto:jhartle at nfb.org>