David Bruce Vitter (born May 3, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Senator for Louisiana from 2005 to 2017. He was the first Republican elected to the Senate from his state since the Reconstruction Era. 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.
After his Senate term ended, Vitter joined the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, Mercury LCC, for which he will focus such issues as energy, transportation, banking, the judiciary, military, and small business.
In 2010, Vitter won a second Senate term by defeating a Democrat, then U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon of Napoleonville in 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.
Vitter unsuccessfully ran for governor to succeed the term-limited Bobby Jindal in the 2015 gubernatorial election. He lost in the general election to Democrat John Bel Edwards, a state representative from Tangipahoa Parish, in the November 21 general election for the governorship, who led a multi-candidate field in the primary. After conceding defeat to Edwards, Vitter announced that he would not seek reelection to his Senate seat in 2016 and would retire from office at the completion of his term. Upon taking office as governor, Edwards appointed Vitter's former Senate opponent, Charlie Melancon, to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, but Melancon left that post after less than a year of service.
In 2007, Vitter admitted to and apologized for prior involvement with a Washington, D.C. escort service. He was first accused of soliciting a prostitute by a New Orleans newspaper in 2002. Since the statute of limitations for prostitution had expired when the scandal was uncovered, Vitter was never charged with a crime.
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Early life and education
David Vitter was born in New Orleans, the son of Audrey Malvina (née St. Raymond) and Albert Leopold Vitter. He graduated in 1979 from De La Salle High School in New Orleans. While a student at De La Salle, Vitter participated in the Close Up Washington civic education program. He received an Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in 1983; a second B.A. from Oxford University in 1985, as a Rhodes Scholar; and a Juris Doctor degree in 1988 from the Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. He was a practicing 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 Chancellor of the University of Mississippi starting in January 2016.
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Early political career
Louisiana House of Representatives
Vitter was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 1999. As a freshman representative, he filed two complaints against Governor Edwin W. Edwards before the Louisiana Ethics Board. One questioned the financing of a trip Edwards took to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he attended an Evander Holyfield fight and gambled at Caesars Palace. The other questioned the involvement of Edwards' children in riverboat casinos.
United States House of Representatives
Vitter won a special election to Louisiana's 1st congressional district in 1999, succeeding Republican U.S. Representative Bob Livingston, who resigned after disclosure that he had committed adultery. In the initial vote on May 1, 1999, former Congressman and Governor David C. 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, garnered 6 percent. In the runoff, Vitter defeated Treen 51-49 percent.
In 2000 and 2002, Vitter was re-elected with more than 80 percent of the vote in what had become a safe Republican district.
2003 gubernatorial election
In 2002, Vitter was preparing to run for governor in 2003, with the incumbent, Republican Mike Foster, 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.
United States Senate
2004 election
In 2004, Vitter ran to replace Democrat John Breaux 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." However, Vitter ultimately admitted that he had engaged the services of prostitutes, and apologized for lying about the affair.
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.
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. Traylor of Monroe, a former associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, in the August 28 Republican primary election and defeated him.
He faced the Democrat U.S. Representative Charlie Melançon of Napoleonville in the November 2 general election. State Representative Ernest Wooton of Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish, an Independent, also ran. On Nov 4, 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 8,167 votes, or 1 percent of the total cast.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
- Subcommittee on Oversight
- Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Chairman)
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
- Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest
- Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts
- Subcommittee on the Constitution
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Chairman)
Hiring of prostitutes
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 Palfrey, also known as the "D.C. Madam", who was 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. As his wife stood next to him, Vitter asked the public for forgiveness. Following Vitter's remarks, his wife Wendy Vitter spoke, but 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", because if he were to resign, Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter's place until a special election could be held, thus increasing Democratic control over the US Senate.
On September 8, 2015, notable on-air personality Derek Myers was fired from WVLA-TV after asking Vitter, who was running for Governor, about allegations that the senator had frequented prostitutes. After Myers' interview, Vitter's campaign pulled hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in advertisements from the NBC station in an attempt to silence the story. Vitter acknowledged that he had used prostitutes. This appeared to affect the governor's race, as the senator lost the run-off election by more than 12%. Exit interviews with voters showed they were disappointed in his involvement with prostitutes.
2015 gubernatorial election
Vitter announced on January 21, 2014, that he would run for governor, in the 2015 election. Vitter was the first sitting or ex-U.S. Senator to launch a gubernatorial bid in Louisiana since 1904, when Democrat Newton Blanchard was elected. Vitter's major opponents were Republicans Scott Angelle, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner and former Lieutenant Governor, and Jay Dardenne, the current Lieutenant Governor; and Democrat John Bel Edwards, Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
On November 5, Dardenne, who finished fourth in the primary election, endorsed Democrat Edwards in the general election race against his intraparty rival Vitter. Dardenne made the announcement at "Free Speech Alley" in front of the LSU Student Union building in Baton Rouge. After the primary, polls showed Edwards with a commanding lead over Vitter. Verne Kennedy of Market Research Insight placed Edwards ahead, 54 to 38 percent or 51 to 40 percent, depending on the level of turnout among African-American voters, either 25 or 20 percent, accordingly.
In the November 21 runoff election, Edwards defeated Vitter by 56% to 44%.
Political positions
Vitter has identified himself as a political conservative throughout his political career. His legislative agenda includes positions ranging from pro-life 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 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.
Fiscal
Louisiana Family Forum earmark
In September, 2007, Vitter earmarked $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". 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.
Children's health insurance program
In September 2007, Vitter opposed an increase of $35 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (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.
Automotive industry bailout
Vitter was one of 35 Senators to vote against the Big 3 Bailout bill. The financial bailout package was for GM, 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.
Social
Immigration
Vitter has been actively involved with legislation concerning illegal immigrants. In June 2007, he led a group of conservative Senators in blocking federal Immigration Legislation that would have granted a pathway to legal residence 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 verify that no customer was an illegal immigrant before issuing 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.
Abstinence education
Vitter advocated abstinence-only sex education, emphasizing abstinence over sex education that includes information about birth control, 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."
Same-sex marriage
In 2003, Vitter proposed to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. 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 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."
School board prayers
In 2005 Vitter introduced a resolution supporting prayer at school board 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 after receiving little support from colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 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.
Gambling
Ever since his days in the Louisiana State Legislature, Vitter has been a longtime opponent of gambling. Beginning in 2002, Vitter opposed the bid by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians 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.
Abortion
Vitter has won strong praise from pro-life 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.
Gun rights
Rated "A" by the National Rifle Association, Vitter has been a consistent defender 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.
On April 17, 2013, Vitter voted against the Toomey-Manchin Gun Control Amendment. The amendment failed to reach the sixty senatorial votes necessary to overcome a Republican-led filibuster. The Toomey-Manchin Gun Control Amendment is a bipartisan deal on gun background checks. Under the proposal, federal background checks would be expanded to include gun shows and online sales. All such sales would be channeled through licensed firearm dealers who would be charged for keeping record of transactions. The proposal does not require background checks for private sales between individuals.
In February 2008, Vitter - along with Senators Larry Craig and Mike Crapo of Idaho - 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.
Child protection
In April 2008, Vitter introduced an amendment to continue funding the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which was excluded from the 2008/2009 budget. The federal program maintains a national sex offender registry, provides resources for tracking down unregistered sex offenders and increases penalties for the sexual assault of children. His amendment received bipartisan support.
Chemical Safety
In May 2013, Vitter introduced the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, a bipartisan bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, which would have regulated the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. The bill would have given additional authority to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate chemicals and streamline the patchwork of state laws on chemicals under federal authority.
Opposition to Franken amendment
In October 2009, the Senate passed Democratic Senator Al Franken's 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 Obama administration. 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."
Tea Party movement
In recognition of the Tea Party protests opposing President Barack Obama'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."
Political actions
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 Sea 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, was 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.
Military
In May 2001, Vitter authored an amendment to the No Child Left Behind Act, 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 that if it is changed, families who supported military recruiting may miss out if required to opt in.
In May 2008, Vitter voted with the majority, despite the opposition of Bush and other Republicans, for the passage of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 to expand educational benefits for veterans similar to the level provided for returning World War II veterans in the G.I. Bill.
Obama nominations
Vitter and Jim DeMint 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.
Network neutrality
Vitter was one of six senate Republicans to propose an amendment to a bill which would stop the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from enforcing network neutrality which they allege is a violation of the First Amendment.
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 2007. 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.
Vitter refused to pledge to a voluntary term limit when running for the U.S. Congress in 1999. His opponent characterized this stance as hypocritical, and Vitter countered that unless it were 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 Democratic former Senator Russ Feingold announced an effort to end automatic pay raises for members of Congress.
Gulf Coast
Hurricane Katrina
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 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.
Water Resources and Development Act
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. Bush 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 housing 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.
BP Horizon oil spill
In response to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill 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.
Other political matters
Vitter became involved in the Louisiana State Senate 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.
In August 2014, Vitter endorsed the Common Core curriculum for Louisiana schools, a position shared by his Republican intraparty rival for governor, Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne. Vitter said that he regards Governor Bobby Jindal's attempt to withdraw from Common Core before the start of another school year to be "very disruptive". Vitter described Common Core as "very strong, significant, positive standards". In December 2014, Vitter changed his views on common core stating "After listening to literally thousands of parents, teachers and others since then, I don't believe that we can achieve that Louisiana control, buy-in and success I'm committed to if we stay in Common Core."
In 2016, Vitter succeeded after a five-year battle in passing through the Senate landmark legislation to reform the country's chemical safety laws. Vitter called the legislation a "big accomplishment. This is an area of federal law that everybody, every stakeholder, every group, whether it's some far-left environmental group or industry, said needed to be updated. The trick was getting agreement on doing that." Democratic colleague Richard Durbin of Illinois, a frequent critic of Vitter, said that if the bill is enacted with President Obama's signature "it's quite an accomplishment for him and for Congress to pass historic legislation."
Electoral history
2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election
2010 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election
2004 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election
1999 Louisiana 1st District United States Congressional Election
1995 Louisiana 81st District State House of Representatives Election
1991 Louisiana 81st District State House of Representatives Election
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