Senator David Vitter was born on May 3rd, 1961 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After he graduated from De La Salle High School in 1979, he attended Harvard University where he received his Bachelors Degree in 1983. He then attended Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving his Masters Degree in 1985. Afterwards, he returned to Louisiana to attend Tulane University Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1988. From 1988 to 1999 he was a business attorney. During that time, he was also an Adjunct Law Professor at both Loyola University and Tulane University. He and his wife Wendy have four children, and currently reside in Metairie, Louisiana.
In 1991, Senator Vitter was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he served from 1992 to 1999. In 1999, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election, after Congressman Bob Livingston resigned. He ran again in 2000 and was re-elected, and again in 2002. In 2004, Senator Vitter was elected to the United States Senate. In 2007, Senator Vitter’s number was found in the phone records of a prostitution service, to which he admitted to using. He was re-elected in 2010 with 57 percent of the vote. He identifies as a political conservative. He supports 2nd Amendment Rights, and opposes abortion. He is also against gambling, a position he has taken since the early years of his career.
Senator Vitter opposes federal funding for abortion, as well as President Obama’s health reform legislation, voting no on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as well as the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Senator Vitter stands strongly against illegal immigration, at one point blocking legislation that would have granted twelve million illegal immigrants citizenship. He is an advocate for the abstinence method of sexual education in schools, as well as an advocate for child safety. In 2008, he introduced legislation to continue the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which maintains the national sex offender registry, provides resources to track down unregistered sex offenders, and increases penalties for the sexual assault of minors. Senator Vitter also voted against the bailout of the automotive industry. Currently, Senator Vitter sits on four committees: the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. |
