David Vitter
Encyclopedia
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator
from Louisiana
and a member of the Republican Party
. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives
, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district
. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
before entering the U.S. House.
In July 2007, Vitter was identified as a client of a prostitution service
. He won a second term in the November 2 general election, defeating a Democratic
challenge from U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon
of Napoleonville
, the seat of Assumption Parish. In the Republican primary held on August 28, 2010, Vitter handily defeated former Louisiana Supreme Court
Justice Chet D. Traylor
of Monroe
, formerly from Winnsboro
.
from Harvard College
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, in 1983; a B.A.
from Oxford University in 1985, as a Rhodes Scholar; and a J.D.
from the Tulane University Law School
in New Orleans in 1988. He was a lawyer
, and adjunct law professor at Tulane and Loyola University New Orleans
.
Vitter and his wife Wendy, a former prosecutor, have three daughters, Sophie, Lise, and Airey, and a son, Jack. Vitter's brother Jeffrey
is a notable academic, a computer science professor and provost and executive vice chancellor
at the University of Kansas
.
from 1992 to 1999 before he entered the U.S. House of Representatives. He won a special election to Louisiana's 1st congressional district
in 1999, succeeding Republican Congressman Bob Livingston
, who resigned after an adultery scandal. In the initial vote on May 1, 1999, former Congressman and Governor David Treen finished first with 36,719 votes (25 percent). Vitter was second, with 31,741 (22 percent), and white nationalist
David Duke
finished third with 28,055 votes (19 percent). Monica L. Monica, a Republican ophthalmologist, had 16 percent; State Representative Bill Strain, a conservative Democrat
, finished fifth with 11 percent; and Rob Couhig
, a Republican lawyer and the owner of New Orleans's minor league baseball team, had 6 percent. In the special election runoff on May 29, Vitter defeated Treen, 61,661 votes (51 percent) to 59,849 (49 percent).
In 2000 and 2002, Vitter won re-election with over 80 percent of the vote in what has become a safe Republican district.
, prevented by term limits from running again. But in June 2002, shortly before the Louisiana Weekly ran a story about Vitter's alleged relationship with a prostitute, Vitter dropped out of the governor's race, saying he and his wife were dealing with marital problems.
in the U.S. Senate. Former state Senator Daniel Wesley Richey
, a Baton Rouge political consultant, directed Vitter's grassroots organization in the race, with assistance from Richey's longtime ally, former state Representative Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins
of Baton Rouge, himself a defeated U.S. Senate candidate in 1978, 1980, and 1996.
During the campaign, Vitter was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of having had a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans. Vitter responded that the allegation was "absolutely and completely untrue" and that it was "just crass Louisiana politics."
On November 2, 2004, Vitter won the jungle primary
, garnering a majority of the vote, while the rest of the vote was mostly split among the Democratic contenders.
Vitter was the first Republican in Louisiana to be popularly elected as a U.S. Senator. The previous Republican Senator, William Pitt Kellogg, was chosen by the state legislature in 1876, in accordance with the process used before the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
went into effect in 1914.
State Representative Mike Futrell of Baton Rouge
resigned early in 2005 to become Vitter's state director. Futrell remained in the position until 2008, when he was engaged in East Baton Rouge Parish municipal/parish government.
of Monroe
, a former associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
in the August 28 Republican primary election
and defeated him. He then faced the Democrat
U.S. Representative Charlie Melançon
of Napoleonville
in the November 2 general election
. An Independent, State Representative
Ernest Wooton
of Belle Chasse
in Plaquemines Parish, also ran. On Nov 4th, 2010, Vitter was re-elected as Louisiana Senator, defeating his Democratic rival, Melancon. According to international news reports, Vitter got 715,304 votes while Melancon got 476,423 votes. Vitter received about 57% of the total vote while Melancon got 38%. The independent candidate Wooton finished with only 8,167 votes, or 1 percent of the total cast.
, also known as the "D.C. Madam
", convicted by the U.S. government for running a prostitution
service. Hustler
identified the phone number and contacted Vitter's office to ask about his connection to Palfrey. The following day, Vitter issued a written statement in which he took responsibility for his sin and asked for forgiveness. On July 16, 2007, after a week of self-imposed seclusion, Vitter emerged and called a news conference
. Standing next to his wife, Vitter asked the public for forgiveness. Following Vitter's remarks, Wendy Vitter, his wife, spoke. Both refused to answer any questions.
While the Louisiana state Republican Party
offered guarded support, national Republicans offered forgiveness. The Nation
predicted that the Republican Party would be in a "forgiving mood", pointing out if Vitter did step down, then Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco
, a Democrat, would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter's place until a special election took place, thus increasing Democratic control over the Senate.
Vitter has not faced criminal charges due to the statute of limitations
. There were renewed calls for Vitter's resignation during a sexting scandal
involving U.S. Representative
Anthony Weiner in June 2011.
to pro-gun rights
while legislating against gambling, same-sex marriage
, federal funding for abortion
providers, increases in the State Children's Health Insurance Program
, the United Nations
, and amnesty
for America's illegal immigrants. Vitter's stated positions include a balanced budget constitutional amendment
, abolishing the federal and state estate tax, increasing local police forces, and an assortment of health care
, tax and national defense reforms.
Vitter has worked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
to bring disaster relief to the region.
Vitter opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
.
$100,000 in federal money for a Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum
, known for challenging evolution
by means of "teaching the controversy
" which promotes intelligent design
. According to Vitter, the earmark was "to develop a plan to promote better science education". Though the Louisiana Family Forum is largely forbidden from political activity due to its tax-exempt status, The Times-Picayune alleged the group had close ties with Vitter. However, they have criticized Vitter for his support of Rudy Giuliani
.
On October 17, 2007, the liberal
organization People For the American Way
, along with several other groups asked the Senate to remove the earmark. Vitter later withdrew it.
(SCHIP), the national program to provide health care for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid
but cannot afford private health insurance. He said he preferred that private health insurance provide the needed care and deemed the bill as "Hillarycare", a reference to the 1993 Clinton health care plan created by Hillary Clinton which proposed universal health care
. The increase passed the Senate, 67 to 29, but was later veto
ed by President George W. Bush
. In February 2009 the SCHIP increase was finally enacted, despite Vitter's voting nay a third time.
, Chrysler
, and Ford, but failed to pass on December 11, 2008. During the Senate debate Vitter referred to the approach of giving the automotive industry a financial package before they restructured as "ass-backwards". He soon apologized for the phrasing of the comment, which did not appear in the Congressional Record
.
. In June 2007, he led a group of conservative Senators in blocking federal Immigration Legislation
that would have granted legal citizenship to 12 million illegal immigrants coupled with increased border enforcement. The bill's defeat won Vitter national attention as the bill was supported by President George W. Bush
, John McCain
, and Ted Kennedy
, among others. Vitter characterized the bill as amnesty
, which supporters denied. Bush accused the bill's opponents of fear mongering
.
In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment withholding Community Oriented Policing Services
funds from any sanctuary city
which bans city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status in violation of the Illegal Immigration Act
. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in opposition to the amendment, said these cities do not want to inquire about someone's status if they report a crime, are a victim of domestic violence
or get vaccinations for their children. The amendment was defeated.
In November 2007, Vitter introduced a bill requiring banks to confirm that customers were not illegal immigrants before providing them with banking or credit cards. The bill never made it out of committee.
In March 2008, Vitter reintroduced the latter two proposals and cosponsored ten of eleven other bills in a Republican package of tough immigration enforcement measures including jail time for illegal border crossing; deportation
for any immigrant (legal or illegal) for a single driving while intoxicated; declaration of English as the official language (thereby terminating language assistance at voting booths and federal agencies)' additional construction of a border fence
; permission for local and state police to enforce immigration laws and penalties for states who issue drivers licenses to illegals. None of these proposals passed, partially because the Democratic-controlled Senate preferred a comprehensive approach which would include a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the current population more akin to the package defeated by Vitter in 2007.
In April 2008, Vitter introduced a joint resolution
proposing a constitutional amendment
that a child born in the United States is not a citizen unless a parent is a citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien
serving in the military. Currently the Constitution grants citizenship
to children born within the U.S.
regardless of the legal status of the parents. The bill never made it out of the Democratic-led committee.
, drawing criticism from Planned Parenthood
. He said, "Abstinence education is a public health strategy focused on risk avoidance that aims to help young people avoid exposure to harm...by teaching teenagers that saving sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards is the best choice for health and happiness."
. In 2004, he said, "This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history...We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts
’s values." In June 2006, he said "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one ... I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress." In 2006, he told The Times-Picayune, “I’m a conservative who opposes radically redefining marriage, the most important social institution in human history.”
In October 2005, at a Lafayette Parish Republican Executive Committee luncheon, Vitter compared gay marriage to hurricanes Katrina
and Rita
, which came through the same geographical areas. Vitter said "It's the crossroads where Katrina meets Rita. I always knew I was against same-sex unions."
meetings in response to an earlier district court
decision that the Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish practice of opening meetings with Christian prayers was unconstitutional. The bill died in committee
. Vitter later reintroduced the resolution in January 2007 after a panel
of the Fifth Circuit Court
concluded that Christian
prayers were unconstitutional but was undecided whether nonsectarian
prayers were allowed. In July 2007, the full Fifth Circuit dismissed the case because of a lack of standing
. The school board subsequently resumed prayer evocations but opened it to diverse community religions. Vitter's bill died in committee.
to build a casino in Louisiana, arguing that the build site was not historically part of their tribal lands. He lobbied the Interior Department
and included language in an appropriations bill to stop the casino. Although the Interior Department gave its approval, the casino has not yet been approved by the state. The Jena chief accused Vitter of ties with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff
, who simultaneously lobbied against the casino. The chairman of the Senate committee investigating the lobbyist said, "The committee has seen absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Senator Vitter's opposition to (the proposed casino) had to do with anything other than his long-standing opposition to gambling." In 2007 and 2008, Vitter introduced a bill to prohibit Indian casinos such as Jena's. Neither bill became law.
groups for his stance against abortion
, while drawing criticism from pro-choice
groups. In 2001, he co-authored legislation to restrict the number of physicians allowed to prescribe RU-486, a drug used in medical abortions. The bill died in committee.
In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment barring all federal public funds to health care providers and Planned Parenthood
that provide services that include abortion. Federal law bars any funding to directly finance elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde amendment. Vitter argued that the funds are used for overhead costs
that benefit the abortion services. The amendment failed to pass. Following the rejection, Vitter and others urged
the Senate to pass a similar bill introduced by Vitter in
January 2007. The bill failed to pass.
In January 2008, Vitter proposed an amendment to prohibit the funding of abortions with Indian Health Service
funds except in the case of rape
, incest
, or when the life of the woman is at risk. The amendment would have held future presidential administrations to an executive principle first crafted in 1982 by the Ronald Reagan
White House. Vitter's amendment passed the Senate but later was stalled in the House.
Later that year, Vitter co-sponsored the Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act which — along with other oversight regulations — required doctors performing abortions to have the authority granted by a nearby hospital to admit patients. The bill was never reported to committee.
, Vitter has been a consistent champion of gun rights. In April, 2006, in response to firearm confiscations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Vitter was the Senate sponsor of the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act, to prohibit federal funding for the confiscation of legally held firearms during a disaster. Later, Vitter included the provisions of the act in an amendment to an appropriation bill
for the Department Of Homeland Security
. The bill became law in September 2006, with the amendment modified to allow for the temporary surrender of a firearm as a condition for entering a rescue or evacuation vehicle.
In February 2008, Vitter — along with Senators Larry Craig
and Mike Crapo
— blocked the confirmation
of Michael J. Sullivan
as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) saying Sullivan supports "burdensome regulations" on gun owners and dealers and is "overly aggressive" enforcing gun laws. An editorial writer for The Boston Globe
wrote that Vitter's position was "unreasonable" because the guns Sullivan sought to control are those commonly used in crimes: those stolen or purchased on the black market. On the other hand, gun rights advocates say that many gun dealers have lost their licenses for harmless bureaucratic errors. Sullivan stayed on as acting head of the ATF until January 2009 to make way for President Barack Obama
to name his own nominee.
which was excluded from the 2008/2009 budget. The federal program maintains a national sex offender registry, provides resources for tracking down unregistered sex offender
s and increases penalties for the sexual assault
of children. His amendment received bipartisan support.
amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would forbid federal contractors from forcing victims of sexual assault
, battery
and discrimination to submit to binding arbitration (where a third-party typically chosen by the contractor adjudicates) and thereby prohibiting them from going to court. The impetus for the amendment came from the story of Jamie Leigh Jones
who alleged that she was drugged and gang-raped by employees of Halliburton
/KBR
, a federal contractor.
The amendment passed 68 to 30 with all opposition coming from Republicans including Vitter (all four female Republicans, six other Republicans and all present Democrats voted for passage). Vitter's 2010 Democratic Senatorial
opponent Charlie Melancon
criticized Vitter for his vote saying, "David Vitter has refused to explain why he voted to allow taxpayer-funded companies to sweep rape charges under the rug. We can only guess what his reasons were." However, The Washington Post
columnist Kathleen Parker
argued that the 30 senators were being "unfairly smeared for doing the harder thing, maybe even for the right reasons."
Republican senators said they voted against it because it was unenforceable, a position also taken by the Department of Defense
(DOD) and the Barack Obama
White House. However, the DOD and the White House stated they agreed with the intent of the legislation and suggested it would be better if it was broadened to prohibit the use of arbitration in cases of sexual assault for any business contract, not just federal contractors. Senators explained their vote against the legislation by saying it was a political attack on Halliburton and that the Senate shouldn't regulate contracts. The latter argument is countered with many examples of similar restrictions on contractors such as discrimination, bonuses and health care. Others felt it was unconstitutional and that arbitration is useful in resolving disputes, often faster, privately and cheaper.
Later, a Baton Rouge rape survivor confronted Vitter at a town hall meeting
saying, "[it] meant everything to me that I was able to put the person who attacked me behind bars ... How can you support a law that tells a rape victim that she does not have the right to defend herself?" Vitter replied, "The language in question did not say that in any way shape or form."
's policies, Vitter proposed Senate Resolution 98, which would designate April 15 in years both 2009 and 2010 as "National TEA Party Day". As of April 2009, the bill has no cosponsors and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
with no scheduled action.
In September 2010, Vitter signed a candidate pledge from the North Central Louisiana TEA Party Patriots. It included a promise to "Conduct myself personally and professionally in a moral and socially appropriate manner."
treaty concerning issues of U.S. sovereignty
echoing an array of conservative groups against the treaty including The National Center for Public Policy Research, the Heritage Foundation
and the Center for Security Policy
. The treaty, which sets up countries' jurisdiction over their coasts and ocean including exploration and navigation rights, is supported by the Bush
administration, a majority of the United States Senate, the Pentagon
, the State Department
and Navy
as do a coalition of business and environmental groups. The committee approved the treaty 17-4, with Vitter voting no.
, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
, which required all secondary schools receiving federal funding to permit US military recruitment on school grounds and to provide the name, home phone number and address of every student enrolled to military recruiters, unless the student (or the student's parent) specifically opts out. In February 2007, Democratic Representative Michael M. Honda proposed the Student Privacy Protection Act of 2007 to change Vitter's amendment from requiring high schools to provide military recruiters with students' personal information unless they explicitly opt-out
to requiring the student's explicit consent first. According to the Congressional Quarterly
, Vitter stands behind the current provision. He stated, if changed, families who supported military recruiting may miss out if required to opt-in.
In May 2008, Vitter voted with the majority, despite Bush's and other conservative Republican's opposition, for the passage of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008
which expanded educational benefits for veterans similar to the level provided for returning World War II
veterans in the G.I. Bill.
were the only two Senators that voted against Hillary Clinton's confirmation
for the position of Secretary of State
under the new Obama administration, on January 21, 2009.
Vitter blocked President Obama's nominee for the new Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) administrator until he received a written commitment on flood control issues from the nominee and FEMA. The New York Times
, along with some Republican Senators, criticized Vitter for what it characterized as political posturing, given that the hurricane season was quickly approaching. He lifted his hold on May 12, 2009.
(FCC) from enforcing network neutrality
which they allege is a violation of the First Amendment
.
. In order to leverage the term limits advantage in that election, Vitter formed a Political Action Committee
with the goal of winning a legislative Republican majority. While the Republicans saw gains, the Democrats maintained majority control.
In spite of his state legislative efforts, Vitter refused to pledge to a voluntary term limit when running for the U.S. Congress in 1999, which his opponent characterized as hypocritical. Vitter countered that unless it was universally applied, the loss of seniority would disadvantage his district. As a Senator, he has proposed term limit constitutional amendments for members of Congress three times.
In 2007, in response to lobbying scandals involving, among others, Jack Abramoff
and Duke Cunningham
, Congress passed a lobbying and ethics reform package
to which Vitter proposed a package of five amendments. The Senate approved three that limited which legislators' spouses could lobby the Senate, created criminal penalties for legislators and executive branch officials who falsify financial reports, and doubled the penalties for lobbyists who failed to comply with disclosure requirements
. The Senate rejected prohibiting legislators from paying their families with campaign funds with some saying it was unrelated to the current legislation and others that the payments were not a problem. Additionally, they tabled
his proposal to define Indian tribes
as corporations and its members as stockholders so that they are required to contribute to candidates through political action committees instead of their tribal treasury. Senators objected saying that they are already subjected to campaign laws for unincorporated entities
and individuals and that the proposal was singling them out unfairly. The reform package became law in September 2007.
In 2009, Vitter and former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold
announced an effort to end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
, Vitter and the rest of the Louisiana congressional delegation worked to bring aid to the Gulf Coast region to rebuild broken levees, schools and hospitals, restore coastal wetlands, and provide assistance for its many victims.
In early September, Vitter said that he would give "the entire big government organized relief effort a failing grade, across the board." He said that state and local governments shared in the blame as well. Vitter's actions during Hurricane Katrina are described in historian Douglas Brinkley
's May 2006 book, The Great Deluge.
In September 2007, Vitter announced that he got "a critical concession" from the White House that decreased Louisiana's obligations for hurricane recovery by $1 billion. However, the White House said that was false.
vetoed the act, objecting to its cost. Congress overrode his veto, enacting the bill.
apartment torn down be replaced with another form of low-income housing on a one-for-one basis. The administration testified that there was not sufficient demand for public housing units, a position contested by several senators. Vitter stated it would recreate "housing projects exactly as they were", isolated and riddled with crime. However, Mary Landrieu
, the Louisiana Democratic Senator, said the intent was to make certain there were affordable places for working-class people who returned. The bill requires that demolished housing projects be replaced with mixed income communities which local housing advocates say is different from the massive public housing developments that Vitter is referring to. However, the bill does not include a ban on large-scale projects. The city housing authority is planning on replacing 4,000 low-income units with mixed-income projects providing a smaller inventory of low-income units. In December 2007, Vitter prevented the bill from leaving the committee.
at an offshore drilling rig
in the Gulf of Mexico
threatening the coast of Louisiana, Vitter introduced legislation along with Jeff Sessions
of Alabama
to increase the liability cap of an oil company from $75 million to its most recent annual profits (or $150 million if greater). In the case of BP
, the owner of the oil lease, its liability would be $20 billion. Vitter later introduced an amendment that would remove the cap entirely for this particular spill. Competing Democratic proposals would have raised the liability to $10 billion regardless of profits or removed the cap altogether. Sessions argued that large caps unrelated to company profits would harm smaller companies.
District 22 special election held in January 2011, a vacancy created by the resignation of Troy Hebert
, who accepted an appointment in the Jindal administration in Baton Rouge. Vitter endorsed and made telephone calls on behalf of a Democrat-turned-Republican state representative, Simone B. Champagne
of Jeanerette
in Iberia Parish
. However, Champagne was soundly defeated by another Democrat-turned-Republican state lawmaker, Fred Mills, Jr.
, a banker and pharmacist from St. Martin Parish
.
2004 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election
1999 Louisiana 1st District United States Congressional Election
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contains areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district includes some or all of the...
. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
before entering the U.S. House.
In July 2007, Vitter was identified as a client of a prostitution service
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. He won a second term in the November 2 general election, defeating a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
challenge from U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon
Charlie Melancon
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Melancon was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2011, and the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter.-Early life, education and career:...
of Napoleonville
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville is a village in and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 686 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, the seat of Assumption Parish. In the Republican primary held on August 28, 2010, Vitter handily defeated former Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
Justice Chet D. Traylor
Chet D. Traylor
Chet D. Traylor is a retired associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from Monroe, Louisiana, who was defeated in the Republican primary election on August 28, 2010, for the U.S. Senate seat held since 2005 by the incumbent David Vitter of New Orleans...
of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, formerly from Winnsboro
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Winnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
.
Early life and education
Vitter was born in New Orleans to Audrey Malvina St. Raymond and Albert Leopold Vitter, and graduated in 1979 from De La Salle High School. He received an A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, in 1983; a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Oxford University in 1985, as a Rhodes Scholar; and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
in New Orleans in 1988. He was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and adjunct law professor at Tulane and Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
.
Vitter and his wife Wendy, a former prosecutor, have three daughters, Sophie, Lise, and Airey, and a son, Jack. Vitter's brother Jeffrey
Jeffrey Vitter
Jeffrey Scott Vitter is provost and executive vice chancellor and Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.-Education:...
is a notable academic, a computer science professor and provost and executive vice chancellor
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
.
House of Representatives
Vitter was a member of the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
from 1992 to 1999 before he entered the U.S. House of Representatives. He won a special election to Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contains areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district includes some or all of the...
in 1999, succeeding Republican Congressman Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
, who resigned after an adultery scandal. In the initial vote on May 1, 1999, former Congressman and Governor David Treen finished first with 36,719 votes (25 percent). Vitter was second, with 31,741 (22 percent), and white nationalist
White nationalism
White nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people. White separatism and white supremacism are subgroups within white nationalism. The former seek a separate white nation state, while the latter add ideas from social Darwinism and...
David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
finished third with 28,055 votes (19 percent). Monica L. Monica, a Republican ophthalmologist, had 16 percent; State Representative Bill Strain, a conservative Democrat
Conservative Democrat
In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with conservative political views, or with views relatively conservative with respect to those of the national party...
, finished fifth with 11 percent; and Rob Couhig
Rob Couhig
Robert Emmet Couhig, Jr., known as Rob Couhig , is an attorney, businessman, entrepreneur, Republican political activist, and a former radio talk show host from New Orleans, Louisiana. His last political foray was into the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election.A former partner of the Adams and Reese...
, a Republican lawyer and the owner of New Orleans's minor league baseball team, had 6 percent. In the special election runoff on May 29, Vitter defeated Treen, 61,661 votes (51 percent) to 59,849 (49 percent).
In 2000 and 2002, Vitter won re-election with over 80 percent of the vote in what has become a safe Republican district.
2002 gubernatorial race
In 2002, Vitter was preparing to run for governor in 2003, with the incumbent, Republican Mike FosterMurphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
, prevented by term limits from running again. But in June 2002, shortly before the Louisiana Weekly ran a story about Vitter's alleged relationship with a prostitute, Vitter dropped out of the governor's race, saying he and his wife were dealing with marital problems.
2004 election
In 2004, Vitter ran to replace Democrat John BreauxJohn Breaux
John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
in the U.S. Senate. Former state Senator Daniel Wesley Richey
Dan Richey
Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey is a Baton Rouge-based political consultant for "pro-family" candidates and organizations, including Louisiana Family Forum. From 1997 to 2004, Richey served under appointment of Republican Governor Murphy J...
, a Baton Rouge political consultant, directed Vitter's grassroots organization in the race, with assistance from Richey's longtime ally, former state Representative Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins
Woody Jenkins
Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972–2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate....
of Baton Rouge, himself a defeated U.S. Senate candidate in 1978, 1980, and 1996.
During the campaign, Vitter was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of having had a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans. Vitter responded that the allegation was "absolutely and completely untrue" and that it was "just crass Louisiana politics."
On November 2, 2004, Vitter won the jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
, garnering a majority of the vote, while the rest of the vote was mostly split among the Democratic contenders.
Vitter was the first Republican in Louisiana to be popularly elected as a U.S. Senator. The previous Republican Senator, William Pitt Kellogg, was chosen by the state legislature in 1876, in accordance with the process used before the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
went into effect in 1914.
State Representative Mike Futrell of Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
resigned early in 2005 to become Vitter's state director. Futrell remained in the position until 2008, when he was engaged in East Baton Rouge Parish municipal/parish government.
2010 election
Vitter began fundraising for his 2010 reelection run in December 2008. He raised $731,000 in the first quarter of 2009 and $2.5 million for his 2010 campaign. He had wide leads against potential Democratic opponents in aggregate general election polling. He faced intraparty opposition from Chet D. TraylorChet D. Traylor
Chet D. Traylor is a retired associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from Monroe, Louisiana, who was defeated in the Republican primary election on August 28, 2010, for the U.S. Senate seat held since 2005 by the incumbent David Vitter of New Orleans...
of Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, a former associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
in the August 28 Republican primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
and defeated him. He then faced the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
U.S. Representative Charlie Melançon
Charlie Melancon
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Melancon was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2011, and the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter.-Early life, education and career:...
of Napoleonville
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville is a village in and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 686 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in the November 2 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. An Independent, State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Ernest Wooton
Ernest Wooton
Ernest Durham Wooton is a former sheriff of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, who is a departing Independent member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the numerically last of the state House districts, No. 105. He resides in Belle Chasse east of New Orleans. He was an unsuccessful...
of Belle Chasse
Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Belle Chasse is a census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 9,848 at the 2000 census....
in Plaquemines Parish, also ran. On Nov 4th, 2010, Vitter was re-elected as Louisiana Senator, defeating his Democratic rival, Melancon. According to international news reports, Vitter got 715,304 votes while Melancon got 476,423 votes. Vitter received about 57% of the total vote while Melancon got 38%. The independent candidate Wooton finished with only 8,167 votes, or 1 percent of the total cast.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed ServicesUnited States Senate Committee on Armed ServicesThe Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
- Subcommittee on PersonnelUnited States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on PersonnelThe Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel is one of six subcommittees within the Senate Armed Services Committee.-Jurisdiction:The Personnel Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all matters relating to active and reserve military personnel, including pay rates, military health care and...
- Subcommittee on SeaPowerUnited States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on SeaPowerThe Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower is one of six subcommittees within the Senate Armed Services Committee.-Jurisdiction:The Seapower Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, including non-tactical air programs, and the Naval Reserve forces.-Members, 112th...
- Subcommittee on Strategic ForcesUnited States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic ForcesThe Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces is one of six subcommittees within the Senate Armed Services Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
(Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Personnel
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsUnited States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsThe United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community DevelopmentUnited States Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community DevelopmentThe Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
(Ranking Member) - Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and InvestmentUnited States Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and InvestmentThe Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
- Committee on Commerce, Science and TransportationUnited States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and TransportationThe United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate in charge of all senate matters related to the following subjects:* Coast Guard* Coastal zone management* Communications...
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and SecurityUnited States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and SecurityThe Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security is one of the seven subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation-Members, 112th Congress:...
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast GuardUnited States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast GuardThe Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard is one of the seven subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation-Members, 112th Congress:...
- Subcommittee on Science and Space (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Committee on Environment and Public WorksUnited States Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksThe United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for dealing with matters related to the environment and infrastructure.-Members, 112th Congress:...
- Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear SafetyUnited States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear SafetyThe U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety is one of seven subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works...
(Ranking Member) - Subcommittee on OversightUnited States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on OversightThe U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Oversight is one of seven subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.-Jurisdiction:According to the Committee's website:-Members, 111th Congress:...
- Subcommittee on Transportation and InfrastructureUnited States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and InfrastructureThe U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure is one of seven subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The subcommittee's jurisdiction includes:*Transportation...
- Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
- Committee on Small Business and EntrepreneurshipUnited States Senate Committee on Small Business and EntrepreneurshipThe U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises.-History:The...
D.C. Madam scandal
In early July 2007, Vitter's phone number was included in a published list of phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, a company owned and run by Deborah Jeane PalfreyDeborah Jeane Palfrey
Deborah Jeane Palfrey operated Pamela Martin and Associates, an escort agency in Washington, D.C. Although she argued that the company's services were legal, she was convicted on April 15, 2008 of racketeering, using the mail for illegal purposes, and money laundering...
, also known as the "D.C. Madam
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
", convicted by the U.S. government for running a prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
service. Hustler
Hustler
Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine aimed at men and published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to...
identified the phone number and contacted Vitter's office to ask about his connection to Palfrey. The following day, Vitter issued a written statement in which he took responsibility for his sin and asked for forgiveness. On July 16, 2007, after a week of self-imposed seclusion, Vitter emerged and called a news conference
News conference
A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...
. Standing next to his wife, Vitter asked the public for forgiveness. Following Vitter's remarks, Wendy Vitter, his wife, spoke. Both refused to answer any questions.
While the Louisiana state Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
offered guarded support, national Republicans offered forgiveness. The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
predicted that the Republican Party would be in a "forgiving mood", pointing out if Vitter did step down, then Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana....
, a Democrat, would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter's place until a special election took place, thus increasing Democratic control over the Senate.
Vitter has not faced criminal charges due to the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
. There were renewed calls for Vitter's resignation during a sexting scandal
Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
The Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, also dubbed Weinergate, began when Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner used the social media website Twitter to send a link to a sexually suggestive picture to a 21-year-old Washington State woman...
involving U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Anthony Weiner in June 2011.
Political actions and positions
Vitter has identified himself as a political conservative throughout his political career. His legislative agenda includes positions ranging from pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
to pro-gun rights
Gun politics in the United States
Gun politics in the United States refers to an ongoing political and social debate regarding both the restriction and availability of firearms within the United States. It has long been among the most controversial and intractable issues in American politics...
while legislating against gambling, same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, federal funding for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
providers, increases in the State Children's Health Insurance Program
State Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, and amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
for America's illegal immigrants. Vitter's stated positions include a balanced budget constitutional amendment
Balanced Budget Amendment
A balanced-budget amendment is a constitutional rule requiring that the state cannot spend more than its income. It requires a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government....
, abolishing the federal and state estate tax, increasing local police forces, and an assortment of health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, tax and national defense reforms.
Vitter has worked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
to bring disaster relief to the region.
Vitter opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
.
Louisiana Family Forum earmark
In September, 2007, Vitter earmarkedEarmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
$100,000 in federal money for a Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
, known for challenging evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by means of "teaching the controversy
Teach the Controversy
Teach the Controversy is the name of a Discovery Institute campaign to promote intelligent design, a variant of traditional creationism, while attempting to discredit evolution in United States public high school science courses...
" which promotes intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
. According to Vitter, the earmark was "to develop a plan to promote better science education". Though the Louisiana Family Forum is largely forbidden from political activity due to its tax-exempt status, The Times-Picayune alleged the group had close ties with Vitter. However, they have criticized Vitter for his support of Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
.
On October 17, 2007, the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
organization People For the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
, along with several other groups asked the Senate to remove the earmark. Vitter later withdrew it.
Children's health insurance program
In September 2007, Vitter opposed an increase of $35 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance ProgramState Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
(SCHIP), the national program to provide health care for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
but cannot afford private health insurance. He said he preferred that private health insurance provide the needed care and deemed the bill as "Hillarycare", a reference to the 1993 Clinton health care plan created by Hillary Clinton which proposed universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
. The increase passed the Senate, 67 to 29, but was later veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
ed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. In February 2009 the SCHIP increase was finally enacted, despite Vitter's voting nay a third time.
Automotive industry bailout
Vitter was one of 35 Senators to vote against the Big 3 Bailout bill. The financial bailout package was for GMGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, and Ford, but failed to pass on December 11, 2008. During the Senate debate Vitter referred to the approach of giving the automotive industry a financial package before they restructured as "ass-backwards". He soon apologized for the phrasing of the comment, which did not appear in the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
.
Immigration
Vitter has been actively involved with legislation concerning illegal immigrantsIllegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
. In June 2007, he led a group of conservative Senators in blocking federal Immigration Legislation
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or, in its full name, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was a bill discussed in the 110th United States Congress that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 to...
that would have granted legal citizenship to 12 million illegal immigrants coupled with increased border enforcement. The bill's defeat won Vitter national attention as the bill was supported by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, among others. Vitter characterized the bill as amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
, which supporters denied. Bush accused the bill's opponents of fear mongering
Fear mongering
Fear mongering is the use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end...
.
In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment withholding Community Oriented Policing Services
Community Oriented Policing Services
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is an agency within the United States Department of Justice. COPS was established through a provision in the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Since 1994, COPS has provided $11.3 billion in assistance to state and local law...
funds from any sanctuary city
Sanctuary city
Sanctuary city is a term given to a city in the United States that follows certain practices that protect illegal immigrants. These practices can be by law or they can be by habit...
which bans city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status in violation of the Illegal Immigration Act
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of vastly changed the immigration laws of the United States.This act states that if an immigrant has been unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than 365 days...
. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in opposition to the amendment, said these cities do not want to inquire about someone's status if they report a crime, are a victim of domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
or get vaccinations for their children. The amendment was defeated.
In November 2007, Vitter introduced a bill requiring banks to confirm that customers were not illegal immigrants before providing them with banking or credit cards. The bill never made it out of committee.
In March 2008, Vitter reintroduced the latter two proposals and cosponsored ten of eleven other bills in a Republican package of tough immigration enforcement measures including jail time for illegal border crossing; deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
for any immigrant (legal or illegal) for a single driving while intoxicated; declaration of English as the official language (thereby terminating language assistance at voting booths and federal agencies)' additional construction of a border fence
United States–Mexico barrier
The Mexico–United States barrier — also known in the United States as the border fence or border wall — is actually several separation barriers designed to prevent illegal movement across the Mexico – United States border...
; permission for local and state police to enforce immigration laws and penalties for states who issue drivers licenses to illegals. None of these proposals passed, partially because the Democratic-controlled Senate preferred a comprehensive approach which would include a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the current population more akin to the package defeated by Vitter in 2007.
In April 2008, Vitter introduced a joint resolution
Joint resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill....
proposing a constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
that a child born in the United States is not a citizen unless a parent is a citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
serving in the military. Currently the Constitution grants citizenship
Citizenship Clause
The Citizenship Clause refers to the first sentence of Section 1 in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This clause represented Congress's reversal of that portion of the Dred Scott v...
to children born within the U.S.
Birthright citizenship in the United States of America
Birthright citizenship in the United States refers to a person's acquisition of United States citizenship by virtue of the circumstances of his or her birth. It contrasts with citizenship acquired in other ways, for example by naturalization later in life. Birthright citizenship may be conferred by...
regardless of the legal status of the parents. The bill never made it out of the Democratic-led committee.
Abstinence education
Vitter advocated abstinence-only sex education, emphasizing abstinence over sex education that includes information about birth controlBirth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
, drawing criticism from Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
. He said, "Abstinence education is a public health strategy focused on risk avoidance that aims to help young people avoid exposure to harm...by teaching teenagers that saving sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards is the best choice for health and happiness."
Same-sex marriage
In 2003, Vitter proposed to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. In 2004, he said, "This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history...We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
’s values." In June 2006, he said "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one ... I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress." In 2006, he told The Times-Picayune, “I’m a conservative who opposes radically redefining marriage, the most important social institution in human history.”
In October 2005, at a Lafayette Parish Republican Executive Committee luncheon, Vitter compared gay marriage to hurricanes Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
, which came through the same geographical areas. Vitter said "It's the crossroads where Katrina meets Rita. I always knew I was against same-sex unions."
School board prayers
In 2005 Vitter introduced a resolution supporting prayer at school boardBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
meetings in response to an earlier district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
decision that the Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish practice of opening meetings with Christian prayers was unconstitutional. The bill died in committee
United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to health, education, labor, and pensions...
. Vitter later reintroduced the resolution in January 2007 after a panel
Judicial panel
A judicial panel is a set of judges who sit together to hear a cause of action, most frequently an appeal from a ruling of a trial court judge. Panels are used in contrast to single-judge appeals, and en banc hearings, which involves all of the judges of that court.In the United States, most...
of the Fifth Circuit Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
concluded that Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
prayers were unconstitutional but was undecided whether nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
prayers were allowed. In July 2007, the full Fifth Circuit dismissed the case because of a lack of standing
Standing (law)
In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case...
. The school board subsequently resumed prayer evocations but opened it to diverse community religions. Vitter's bill died in committee.
Gambling
Ever since his days in the Louisiana State Legislature, Vitter has been a longtime foe of gambling. Beginning in 2002, Vitter opposed the bid by the Jena Band of Choctaw IndiansJena Band of Choctaw Indians
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians are one of three federally-recognized Choctaw groups in the United States. They are based in La Salle and Catahoula Parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The Jena Band received federal recognition in 1995. Tribal membership totals 241.-Government:The tribe is...
to build a casino in Louisiana, arguing that the build site was not historically part of their tribal lands. He lobbied the Interior Department
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
and included language in an appropriations bill to stop the casino. Although the Interior Department gave its approval, the casino has not yet been approved by the state. The Jena chief accused Vitter of ties with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
, who simultaneously lobbied against the casino. The chairman of the Senate committee investigating the lobbyist said, "The committee has seen absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Senator Vitter's opposition to (the proposed casino) had to do with anything other than his long-standing opposition to gambling." In 2007 and 2008, Vitter introduced a bill to prohibit Indian casinos such as Jena's. Neither bill became law.
Abortion Rights
Vitter has won strong praise from pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
groups for his stance against abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, while drawing criticism from pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
groups. In 2001, he co-authored legislation to restrict the number of physicians allowed to prescribe RU-486, a drug used in medical abortions. The bill died in committee.
In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment barring all federal public funds to health care providers and Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
that provide services that include abortion. Federal law bars any funding to directly finance elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde amendment. Vitter argued that the funds are used for overhead costs
Overhead (business)
In business, overhead or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of operating a business...
that benefit the abortion services. The amendment failed to pass. Following the rejection, Vitter and others urged
the Senate to pass a similar bill introduced by Vitter in
January 2007. The bill failed to pass.
In January 2008, Vitter proposed an amendment to prohibit the funding of abortions with Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service is an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . IHS is responsible for providing medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives...
funds except in the case of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, or when the life of the woman is at risk. The amendment would have held future presidential administrations to an executive principle first crafted in 1982 by the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
White House. Vitter's amendment passed the Senate but later was stalled in the House.
Later that year, Vitter co-sponsored the Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act which — along with other oversight regulations — required doctors performing abortions to have the authority granted by a nearby hospital to admit patients. The bill was never reported to committee.
Gun rights
Rated A by the National Rifle AssociationNational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, Vitter has been a consistent champion of gun rights. In April, 2006, in response to firearm confiscations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Vitter was the Senate sponsor of the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act, to prohibit federal funding for the confiscation of legally held firearms during a disaster. Later, Vitter included the provisions of the act in an amendment to an appropriation bill
Appropriation bill
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
for the Department Of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
. The bill became law in September 2006, with the amendment modified to allow for the temporary surrender of a firearm as a condition for entering a rescue or evacuation vehicle.
In February 2008, Vitter — along with Senators Larry Craig
Larry Craig
Larry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...
and Mike Crapo
Mike Crapo
Michael Dean "Mike" Crapo is the senior United States Senator from the state of Idaho and a member of the Republican Party.Born in the city of Idaho Falls, Crapo is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School. He practiced law in his home city throughout the 1980s, while...
— blocked the confirmation
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
of Michael J. Sullivan
Michael Sullivan (US Attorney)
Michael J. Sullivan is the former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He is also the former Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Prior to his appointment he served six years as the District Attorney for Plymouth County, Massachusetts, as...
as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) saying Sullivan supports "burdensome regulations" on gun owners and dealers and is "overly aggressive" enforcing gun laws. An editorial writer for The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
wrote that Vitter's position was "unreasonable" because the guns Sullivan sought to control are those commonly used in crimes: those stolen or purchased on the black market. On the other hand, gun rights advocates say that many gun dealers have lost their licenses for harmless bureaucratic errors. Sullivan stayed on as acting head of the ATF until January 2009 to make way for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to name his own nominee.
Child protection
In April 2008, Vitter introduced an amendment to continue funding the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety ActAdam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is a federal statute that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. The Walsh Act organizes sex offenders into three tiers and mandates that Tier 3 offenders update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime...
which was excluded from the 2008/2009 budget. The federal program maintains a national sex offender registry, provides resources for tracking down unregistered sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s and increases penalties for the sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
of children. His amendment received bipartisan support.
Opposition to Franken amendment
In October 2009, the Senate passed Democratic Senator Al Franken'sAl Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would forbid federal contractors from forcing victims of sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, battery
Battery (tort)
At common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them . Unlike assault, battery involves an actual contact...
and discrimination to submit to binding arbitration (where a third-party typically chosen by the contractor adjudicates) and thereby prohibiting them from going to court. The impetus for the amendment came from the story of Jamie Leigh Jones
Jamie Leigh Jones
Jamie Leigh Jones was an employee of KBR, an American engineering, construction and private military contracting company. She is notable for accusing then fellow KBR employees of drugging and gang-raping her on July 28, 2005, at Camp Hope, Baghdad, Iraq...
who alleged that she was drugged and gang-raped by employees of Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
/KBR
KBR
KBR can stand for:* KBR - American engineering and construction company* Key-based routing* Royal Library of Belgium* The ISO 639 linguistic identifier code for the Ethiopian language Kaffa ....
, a federal contractor.
The amendment passed 68 to 30 with all opposition coming from Republicans including Vitter (all four female Republicans, six other Republicans and all present Democrats voted for passage). Vitter's 2010 Democratic Senatorial
United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 2, 2010. Republican incumbent U.S. Senator David Vitter won re-election to a second term.-Background:* Party primaries: Saturday, August 28, 2010...
opponent Charlie Melancon
Charlie Melancon
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Melancon was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2011, and the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter.-Early life, education and career:...
criticized Vitter for his vote saying, "David Vitter has refused to explain why he voted to allow taxpayer-funded companies to sweep rape charges under the rug. We can only guess what his reasons were." However, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
columnist Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker is an American syndicated columnist. Her columns are syndicated nationally by The Washington Post. Parker is a consulting faculty member at the Buckley School of Public Speaking, and is a regular guest on television shows like The O'Reilly Factor and The Chris Matthews Show....
argued that the 30 senators were being "unfairly smeared for doing the harder thing, maybe even for the right reasons."
Republican senators said they voted against it because it was unenforceable, a position also taken by the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DOD) and the Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
White House. However, the DOD and the White House stated they agreed with the intent of the legislation and suggested it would be better if it was broadened to prohibit the use of arbitration in cases of sexual assault for any business contract, not just federal contractors. Senators explained their vote against the legislation by saying it was a political attack on Halliburton and that the Senate shouldn't regulate contracts. The latter argument is countered with many examples of similar restrictions on contractors such as discrimination, bonuses and health care. Others felt it was unconstitutional and that arbitration is useful in resolving disputes, often faster, privately and cheaper.
Later, a Baton Rouge rape survivor confronted Vitter at a town hall meeting
Town hall meeting
A town hall meeting is an American English term given to an informal public meeting. Everybody in a town community is invited to attend, not always to voice their opinions, but to hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest. Attendees rarely voted...
saying, "[it] meant everything to me that I was able to put the person who attacked me behind bars ... How can you support a law that tells a rape victim that she does not have the right to defend herself?" Vitter replied, "The language in question did not say that in any way shape or form."
Tea Parties
In recognition of the Tea Party protests opposing President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's policies, Vitter proposed Senate Resolution 98, which would designate April 15 in years both 2009 and 2010 as "National TEA Party Day". As of April 2009, the bill has no cosponsors and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
with no scheduled action.
In September 2010, Vitter signed a candidate pledge from the North Central Louisiana TEA Party Patriots. It included a promise to "Conduct myself personally and professionally in a moral and socially appropriate manner."
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
In September 2007, during hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Vitter expressed serious doubts about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
treaty concerning issues of U.S. sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
echoing an array of conservative groups against the treaty including The National Center for Public Policy Research, the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
and the Center for Security Policy
Center for Security Policy
The Center for Security Policy is a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues. The Center was founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney, Jr....
. The treaty, which sets up countries' jurisdiction over their coasts and ocean including exploration and navigation rights, is supported by the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration, a majority of the United States Senate, the Pentagon
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as do a coalition of business and environmental groups. The committee approved the treaty 17-4, with Vitter voting no.
Military
In May 2001, Vitter authored an amendment to the No Child Left Behind ActNo Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act , is a United States federal statute enacted April 11, 1965. It was passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty" and has been the most far-reaching federal legislation affecting education ever passed by Congress...
, which required all secondary schools receiving federal funding to permit US military recruitment on school grounds and to provide the name, home phone number and address of every student enrolled to military recruiters, unless the student (or the student's parent) specifically opts out. In February 2007, Democratic Representative Michael M. Honda proposed the Student Privacy Protection Act of 2007 to change Vitter's amendment from requiring high schools to provide military recruiters with students' personal information unless they explicitly opt-out
Opt-out
The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This ability is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as telemarketing, e-mail marketing, or direct mail. A list of those who have opted-out is called a...
to requiring the student's explicit consent first. According to the Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
, Vitter stands behind the current provision. He stated, if changed, families who supported military recruiting may miss out if required to opt-in.
In May 2008, Vitter voted with the majority, despite Bush's and other conservative Republican's opposition, for the passage of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 is Title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, , , an Act of Congress which became law on June 30, 2008. The act amended Part III of Title 38, United States Code to include a new Chapter 33, which expands the educational benefits...
which expanded educational benefits for veterans similar to the level provided for returning World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veterans in the G.I. Bill.
Obama nominations
Vitter and Jim DeMintJim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
were the only two Senators that voted against Hillary Clinton's confirmation
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
for the position of Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
under the new Obama administration, on January 21, 2009.
Vitter blocked President Obama's nominee for the new Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) administrator until he received a written commitment on flood control issues from the nominee and FEMA. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, along with some Republican Senators, criticized Vitter for what it characterized as political posturing, given that the hurricane season was quickly approaching. He lifted his hold on May 12, 2009.
Network neutrality
Vitter was one of six senate Republicans to propose an amendment to a bill which would stop the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) from enforcing network neutrality
Network neutrality
Network neutrality is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers' access to networks that participate in the Internet...
which they allege is a violation of the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
.
Ethics and term limits
Vitter has argued for ethics reform and term limits since he was in the Louisiana Legislature in the early 1990s. As a Louisiana state legislator, Vitter successfully pushed through a term limits amendment to the state constitution to oust the largely Democratic legislature. The first election legislators were affected by the reform occurred in 2007Louisiana state elections, 2007
Louisiana's 2007 state elections were held on October 20, 2007, with runoff elections held on November 17. All statewide elected offices were up, as well as all seats in the Louisiana State Legislature....
. In order to leverage the term limits advantage in that election, Vitter formed a Political Action Committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
with the goal of winning a legislative Republican majority. While the Republicans saw gains, the Democrats maintained majority control.
In spite of his state legislative efforts, Vitter refused to pledge to a voluntary term limit when running for the U.S. Congress in 1999, which his opponent characterized as hypocritical. Vitter countered that unless it was universally applied, the loss of seniority would disadvantage his district. As a Senator, he has proposed term limit constitutional amendments for members of Congress three times.
In 2007, in response to lobbying scandals involving, among others, Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
and Duke Cunningham
Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...
, Congress passed a lobbying and ethics reform package
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995...
to which Vitter proposed a package of five amendments. The Senate approved three that limited which legislators' spouses could lobby the Senate, created criminal penalties for legislators and executive branch officials who falsify financial reports, and doubled the penalties for lobbyists who failed to comply with disclosure requirements
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
The Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995 was legislation aimed at bringing a level of accountability to federal lobbying practices in the United States. The law was amended substantially by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007...
. The Senate rejected prohibiting legislators from paying their families with campaign funds with some saying it was unrelated to the current legislation and others that the payments were not a problem. Additionally, they tabled
Table (parliamentary)
In parliamentary procedure, a motion to table has two different and contradictory meanings:*In the United States, table usually means the motion to lay on the table or motion to postpone consideration; a proposal to suspend consideration of a pending motion...
his proposal to define Indian tribes
Indian tribes
The India's tribal belts refer to contiguous areas of indigenous settlement of tribal people of India.-Northwest India:The Tribal Belt of Northwest India includes the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. The tribal people of this region have origins which precede the Vedic...
as corporations and its members as stockholders so that they are required to contribute to candidates through political action committees instead of their tribal treasury. Senators objected saying that they are already subjected to campaign laws for unincorporated entities
Unincorporated entity
An unincorporated entity is an entity that has the same characteristics as a company but is not incorporated. It is also sometimes called a voluntary association....
and individuals and that the proposal was singling them out unfairly. The reform package became law in September 2007.
In 2009, Vitter and former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic party member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. From 1983 to 1993, Feingold was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.He is a recipient of the John F...
announced an effort to end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
Hurricane Katrina
In the aftermath of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, Vitter and the rest of the Louisiana congressional delegation worked to bring aid to the Gulf Coast region to rebuild broken levees, schools and hospitals, restore coastal wetlands, and provide assistance for its many victims.
In early September, Vitter said that he would give "the entire big government organized relief effort a failing grade, across the board." He said that state and local governments shared in the blame as well. Vitter's actions during Hurricane Katrina are described in historian Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley is an American author, professor of history at Rice University and a fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair...
's May 2006 book, The Great Deluge.
In September 2007, Vitter announced that he got "a critical concession" from the White House that decreased Louisiana's obligations for hurricane recovery by $1 billion. However, the White House said that was false.
Federal Water Bill
Vitter helped write the Water Resources and Development Act for flood-control, hurricane-protection and coastal-restoration projects including $3.6 billion for Louisiana. He called it the "single most important" legislation for assisting Louisiana with its recovery from hurricane Katrina. President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
vetoed the act, objecting to its cost. Congress overrode his veto, enacting the bill.
New Orleans public housing
In September 2007, The Times-Picayune reported that Vitter and the Bush administration opposed a provision of The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery bill which required that every public housingPublic housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
apartment torn down be replaced with another form of low-income housing on a one-for-one basis. The administration testified that there was not sufficient demand for public housing units, a position contested by several senators. Vitter stated it would recreate "housing projects exactly as they were", isolated and riddled with crime. However, Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, the Louisiana Democratic Senator, said the intent was to make certain there were affordable places for working-class people who returned. The bill requires that demolished housing projects be replaced with mixed income communities which local housing advocates say is different from the massive public housing developments that Vitter is referring to. However, the bill does not include a ban on large-scale projects. The city housing authority is planning on replacing 4,000 low-income units with mixed-income projects providing a smaller inventory of low-income units. In December 2007, Vitter prevented the bill from leaving the committee.
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
In response to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spillDeepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
at an offshore drilling rig
Drilling rig
A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person...
in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
threatening the coast of Louisiana, Vitter introduced legislation along with Jeff Sessions
Jeff Sessions
Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III is the junior United States Senator from Alabama. First elected in 1996, Sessions is a member of the Republican Party...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to increase the liability cap of an oil company from $75 million to its most recent annual profits (or $150 million if greater). In the case of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, the owner of the oil lease, its liability would be $20 billion. Vitter later introduced an amendment that would remove the cap entirely for this particular spill. Competing Democratic proposals would have raised the liability to $10 billion regardless of profits or removed the cap altogether. Sessions argued that large caps unrelated to company profits would harm smaller companies.
Other political matters
Vitter became involved in the Louisiana State SenateLouisiana State Senate
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All Senators serve four year terms and are assigned multiple committees to work on. The Republicans control the State Senate following a Special Election Victory in District 26 by Jonathan W. Perry...
District 22 special election held in January 2011, a vacancy created by the resignation of Troy Hebert
Troy Hebert
Troy Michael Hebert is a politician from Jeanerette, Louisiana, who is the current Commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Hebert was appointed commissioner by Republican Governor Bobby Jindal...
, who accepted an appointment in the Jindal administration in Baton Rouge. Vitter endorsed and made telephone calls on behalf of a Democrat-turned-Republican state representative, Simone B. Champagne
Simone B. Champagne
Simone Becnel Champagne is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 49 in south Louisiana. She resides in Jeanerette in Iberia Parish, where in 1971 she graduated from Jeanerette High School...
of Jeanerette
Jeanerette, Louisiana
Jeanerette is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as "Sugar City", it had a population of 5,997 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Early years:...
in Iberia Parish
Iberia Parish, Louisiana
Iberia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Iberia. As of 2000, the population was 73,266.Iberia Parish is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lafayette–Acadiana Combined Statistical Area.Iberia, along with...
. However, Champagne was soundly defeated by another Democrat-turned-Republican state lawmaker, Fred Mills, Jr.
Fred Mills (Louisiana politician)
Fred Henry Mills, Jr. , is a pharmacist and banker from St. Martinville, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, having won a special election on January 22, 2011, for the District 22 seat vacated in 2010 by the Independent Troy Hebert of Jeanerette.Mills had since 2008...
, a banker and pharmacist from St. Martin Parish
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
St. Martin Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Martinville. As of the 2000 census, the population was 48,583.St...
.
Electoral history
2010 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election| David Vitter (R) 57% |
| Charlie Melancon Charlie Melancon Charles Joseph "Charlie" Melancon was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2011, and the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter.-Early life, education and career:... (D) 38% |
| Randall T. Hayes (L) 1% |
2004 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election
| David Vitter (R) 51% |
| Chris John Chris John Christopher Charles "Chris" John is American politician who was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 7th congressional district.-Early life:... (D) 29% |
| John Neely Kennedy (D) 15% |
| Arthur Morrell (D) 3% |
| Richard Fontanesi (I) 1% |
| R.A. Galan (I) 1% |
| Sam Melton (D) 1% |
1999 Louisiana 1st District United States Congressional Election
| David Vitter (R) 51% |
| David C. Treen David C. Treen David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S... (R) 49% |
External links
- United States Senator David Vitter official U.S. Senate site
- David Vitter for U.S. Senate official campaign site
- Vitter.org Vitter family website maintained by David Vitter's brother Jeffrey VitterJeffrey VitterJeffrey Scott Vitter is provost and executive vice chancellor and Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.-Education:...