FACT CHECK: Career Politician Vitter Wildly Ineffective; Has Only Passed 5 Bills Into Law

Summary: Senator Vitter, a career politician, has only passed five bills in his 16 years in Washington. He has not been effective for Louisiana.

IN 16 YEARS DAVID VITTER HAS ONLY PASSED FIVE BILLS INTO LAW

David Vitter Introduced 565 Bills Between 1999 And 2015. [Congress.gov, accessed 11/5/15]

…But Only Five Of His Bills Ever Became Law. [Congress.gov, accessed 11/5/15]

 

  • One Of The Bills Was To Rename A Post Office. [S. 2272, 110th Congress, 3/12/08]
  • One Of The Bills Changed The Definition Of “Exhibitor” For People Who Show Animal Shows. [S. 3666, 112th Congress, 1/10/13]

Vitter Only Passed Two Bills While George W. Bush Was President. [Congress.gov, accessed 11/5/15]

 

2014: VITTER WAS THE LEAST EFFECTIVE SENATOR IN EITHER PARTY

HEADLINE: Public Policy Organization Labels Vitter Least Effective. [Houma Today, 1/20/14]

 

Vitter Was The Least Effective Senator Of Either Party. “U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., had the lowest batting average in the Senate during the 113th Congress, according to a Brookings Institution report that compared lawmakers’ success to baseball players. Vitter ‘went to bat’ 61 times, meaning he proposed 61 bills, but had a 0.000 batting average because none of his legislation was passed into law, said the nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C.” [Houma Today, 1/20/14]

 

VITTER HAD THE LOWEST “BATTING AVERAGE” IN THE SENATE

 

2014: Vitter Introduced 61 Bills And Had 0 Bills Make It Out Of Committee. “On the Senate side, each member of the chamber introduced at least one bill.  David Vitter (R-LA) was the leading at-batsman, introducing 61 bills, followed by Mark Begich (D-AK) with 49, and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) with 48… Ted Cruz (R-TX) was the clear leader in the Senate, with seven of his eight bills making it out of committee, good for a 0.875 average.  By comparison, in second place – and the leading Democrat – was Tim Johnson (D-SD), who saw three of his six bills survive committee.  On the other hand, 29 Senators [including Vitter] had a zero percent success rate.” [Brookings Institute, 1/14/14]

 

Vitter Had The Lowest “Batting Average” Of All Of The Senators.

[Brookings Institute, 1/14/14]

 

VITTER HAS ONLY HAD 3.7% OF THE BILLS HE CO-SPONSORED BECOME LAW SINCE GOING TO DC

 

Since 1999 David Vitter Has Sponsored Or Co-Sponsored 2,234 Bills. [Congress.Gov, accessed 11/5/15]

 

…And Only 83 Of The Bills He Co-Sponsored Became Law.  [Congress.Gov, accessed 11/5/15]

 

VITTER CAN’T EVEN NAME AN ACTUAL CONSERVATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENT ON HIS WEBSITE

 

Every “Conservative Legislative Accomplishment” Vitter’s Website Listed Was Vitter Authorizing Bills, None Of Which Became Law. “David’s Conservative Legislative Accomplishments. Authored the Welfare Abuse Prevention Act. Authored and proposed a bill to block taxpayer dollars from going to organizations who perform abortions, years before the gruesome videos surfaced. Authored the bill to eliminate Birthright Citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants in America. Authored the bill to eliminate federal funds for Sanctuary Cities who harbor illegal immigrants. Authored the bill to eliminate the Obamacare Exemption for Congress. Fighting for Term Limits for Congress.” [David’s Conservative Legislative Accomplishments, Vitter for Governor, accessed 11/6/15]

 

THOUGH HE HASN’T BEEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE SENATOR VITTER HAS BEEN RANKED ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT

 

Vitter Has Been Named One Of The “Most Corrupt Members” Of Congress Three Times In His Congressional Career.  “For the third time in his congressional career, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has made Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s annual list of the ‘most corrupt members’ of Congress. The list includes 12 members, eight Republicans and four Democrats.” [The Times-Picayune, 9/12/12]