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David Vitter (R-La.)

U.S. Senator (since January 2005)

(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Why He Matters

A first-term senator from Louisiana, Vitter was elected in 2004 after winning 51 percent of the vote in the state's open primary and avoiding a runoff. He was re-elected in the November 2010 midterms.

Though his roots are in Louisiana, Vitter was educated at two of the world's most prestigious colleges: Harvard and Oxford, the latter as a Rhodes Scholar. Vitter was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1991, just three years out of law school, and served in the U.S. House for five years, from 1999 to 2005, before joining the Senate.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. House (1999-2004); State House of Representatives (1991-1999); Lawyer (1988-1991)
Birthday: May 3, 1961
Hometown: Metairie, La.
Alma Mater: Tulane Law, J.D., 1988; Oxford University, B.A., 1985;Harvard University, A.B., 1983
Spouse: Wendy Vitter
Religion: Catholic
Committees: Environment and Public Works ; Armed Services ; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee ; Small Business and Entrepreneurship

DC Office: 516 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-4623
State Offices: Alexandria (318) 448-0169;Monroe (318) 325-8120;Shreveport (318) 861-0437;Metairie (504) 589-2753;Lake Charles (337) 436-0453;Lafayette 337-262-6898; Baton Rouge 225-383-0331
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Path to Power

Born and raised in New Orleans, Vitter grew up the son of a Chevron petroleum engineer. He attended Harvard and earned an economics degree in 1983.

Two years later he graduated from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, with a bachelor's degree. Then, in 1988, Vitter earned a law degree from Tulane Law School back in his hometown of New Orleans. After law school, Vitter went into private practice. He also taught at Tulane and Loyola.

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Political Start

In 1991, at the age of 30, Vitter made his first foray into elected politics when he won the Louisiana State House seat vacated by former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke.

As a member of the state legislature, Vitter pushed a Republican family-values agenda and took on government corruption. In 1993 he helped expose government officials who were awarding scholarships to Tulane to family members and filed an ethics complaint against then-Gov. Edwin Edwards (D),accusing him of allowing his children to profit illegally from state riverboat gambling. His most notable accomplishment in the state House was the passage of a law that now limits state legislators to three consecutive terms.

After eight years in the state House, Vitter was prepared to move on to national politics. The opportunity came when 1st District Rep. Bob Livingston (R) announced that he was retiring due to extra-marital affairs in 1999. A slew of Republicans jumped into the U.S. House race, including Duke. Vitter finished second in the primary, winning 22 percent of the vote. Seventy-year-old former Gov. David Treen (R) won 25 percent of the vote. Vitter won the closely contested runoff, 51 to 49 percent.

In the U.S. House, Vitter established himself as one of the body's most conservative members. Among his biggest accomplishments was the passing of an amendment to an education bill requiring secondary schools that receive federal money to allow military recruiters on campus. Vitter twice won House re-election with at least 80 percent of the vote.

U.S. Senate Bid

In 2003, Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) announced his retirement and Vitter quickly announced his intentions to run to succeed him. Vitter's most serious competitor was Democrat and ex-Rep. Chris John (D-La.). But with two other Democrats in the field, Treasurer John Kennedy (D-La.) and state Rep. Arthur Morrell (D-La.), it was widely assumed that Vitter would win the Election Day open primary. The goal of the Democrats was to keep Vitter's tally under 50 percent and force a runoff.

Vitter campaigned for the Senate as a close ally of President George W. Bush. He called for making Bush's tax cuts permanent and supported increased spending on the Iraq war. He strongly opposed abortion, gay marriage and restrictions on gun ownership. One issue Vitter disagreed with Bush on was the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which did not exempt sugar imports (Louisiana produces more sugar than any other U.S. state).

The three Democrats running against Vitter tried to paint him as a puppet of the House GOP leadership. But in the end, Vitter's financial advantage and Democratic infighting led to an outright victory for the Republican congressman. Vitter won 51 percent of the vote in the 2003 open primary, becoming Louisiana's first Republican senator in 121 years. John led Democrats with 29 percent of the vote.

Vitter began his Senate career concentrating on issues like prescription drugs and ethics reform. In July 2006, the Senate passed Vitter's amendment to ban federal agents from stopping Americans from importing small amounts of prescription drugs into the country. And in early 2007, he pushed through amendments on a lobbying reform bill that banned lobbying by spouses of senators.

'D.C. Madam' Controversy

In the summer of 2007, Vitter was thrust into the national spotlight when it was revealed that his name appeared on the telephone records of Deborah Jane Palfrey,otherwise known as the "D.C. Madam." Vitter acknowledged that he had contacted Palfrey, who headed the escort service while a member of the House. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and from my wife in confession and marriage counseling."

Vitter rejected calls for his resignation and has committed to seeking reelection in 2010.

The Issues

In the Senate, Vitter is a staunch conservative, but has sometimes broken from his party; he opposed, for example, the fall 2008 financial bailout. Vitter has a lifetime rating of 93 from the American Conservative Union and voted with his party 86 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.,

A devout Catholic, Vitter has established himself as a strong ally of the anti-abortion rights movement, sponsoring legislation to restrict the doctors who could prescribe RU-486, which can end an unwanted pregnancy. The legislation never made it out of committee. Vitter also authored legislation that would prohibit federal money from going to private abortion providers and supported legislation to prohibit the transport of minors across state lines in order to get an abortion.

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In 2003, Vitter proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He also supports abstinence-only education, opposes gambling and is a strong ally of the National Rifle Association.

The Economy

In late 2008, Vitter opposed the government's bailout of Wall Street. He said that he believed action was necessary, but the bailout was flawed by bias. "We need to minimize the pain on average Americans who did nothing wrong, not wipe it away from politicians, lenders, and yes, some borrowers who did plenty wrong, who were plenty irresponsible," he said.

Vitter also opposed the government's bailout of the Big Three auto companies. He helped lead the charge among GOP senators against the bill. Along with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Vitter was able to block the bailout package passed by the House and supported by the White House. He said the plan did not require the type of restructuring necessary for the auto companies to become successful again.

Continuing his trend of opposing large scale government spending, Vitter opposed President Obama's $787 stimulus package approved in February 2009.

The Republican introduced an amendment that, he said, would have cut $50 billion in spending projects from the package, but it failed. "I'm disappointed that we were not able to come to a reasonable compromise on this package and pass a bill that contained projects and programs that were truly focused on creating new jobs and stimulating our economy. The bill that passed will not achieve these goals," he wrote on his Web site.

Immigration

The chairman of the Senate Border Security Caucus, Vitter has made immigration one of his legislative priorities. He first received national attention on the issue when he led a group of senators in blocking President George W. Bush's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Vitter called the bill amnesty for illegal immigrants.

In March 2008, Vitter co-sponsored a tough immigration package. The package consisted of 11 bills that would have, among other things, required jail time for illegal immigrants caught crossing the border, required banks to check if someone applying for a credit card is illegal and report it, docked 10 percent of federal highway funding from any state that issued driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and limited language assistance at federal agencies and voting booths.

Gulf Coast Recovery

Vitter has been critical of both the federal and state responses to Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisana in 2005. In the aftermath of the disaster, he said he gave "the entire big government organized relief effort a failing grade, across the board." Three weeks after the hurricane hit he teamed up with fellow Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) to request $250 billion in federal money to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas. The proposal died in committee.

Vitter had success in pushing through the Water Resources and Development Act, which he helped write as member of House-Senate legislative conference on the bill.

The law approved the construction of flood-protection systems in Louisiana and other water-restoration projects throughout the country. The bill was vetoed by President Bush, but the Senate voted to override the veto. "This bill is enormously important, and it has been a long time coming," Vitter said.(20)

The Network

Early in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, Vitter endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "Rudy has the strong unwavering leadership and sound judgment that we so clearly need in this time of war and terrorist threats," Vitter said.(21)

Vitter is close to fellow Louisiana Republican, Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is considered a top presidential contender in 2012. In December 2004, the governor headlined a Washington, D.C. event to raise money for Vitter's 2008 re-election campaign. All Republican members of Louisiana's congressional delegation were co-chairs of the event.

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Additional Resources