ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 1997 TAG: 9704150085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Senate sources said Monday that the objection was filed by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.
Only a select few people are allowed within the sanctity of the Senate chamber, but Sen. Ron Wyden asked his colleagues Monday to admit a seeing-eye guide dog - and he was quickly rebuffed.
Wyden, D-Ore., wanted senators to allow Moira Shea, a blind congressional fellow working in his office, to bring her yellow retriever, Beau, into the chamber during a debate on nuclear waste.
When his request was rejected, Wyden said ``a guide dog is a person's vision'' and accused the Senate of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by discriminating against blind people.
A Democratic senator telephoned the Senate cloak room and voiced his objection, blocking Wyden's request. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that while he personally had no objection to bringing in the dog, he was raising a formal protest on behalf of the other senator, whom he would not identify.
Senate sources, who asked not to be identified, said late Monday that the objection was filed by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who is known for his strong views about Senate tradition. Telephone calls to Byrd's office went unanswered.
Wyden extolled the benefits of guide dogs as ``working dogs'' that should be given some leeway. ``The Senate should change its rules,'' he declared. ``To tell someone like Shea she cannot come to the floor is demeaning.''
``Shea is being treated differently simply because she is visually impaired,'' said Wyden, adding that Shea, an economist who has worked in the government for 20 years, has taken her dog into government offices, hearings and nuclear weapons facilities.
Shea, 41, who has worked for Wyden since January and before that for Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., as well as the Energy and Commerce departments, waited in a nearby room after being barred entry to the chamber.
Shea said refusing her access to the chamber violates her rights. ``I can't walk away from it. I really need to defend my rights here,'' she said in an interview.
Wyden said the inability of Shea to take in her dog was an affront to disabled Americans. He introduced a resolution that disabled people be allowed to take with them to the Senate floor the ``supporting services including service dogs'' they need.
The four other senators in the chamber at the time - Sens. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.; Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska; Richard Bryan, D-Nev.; and Reid - quickly asked to become co-sponsors.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB