Senate blocks vote on Vitter census bill

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Nov 6, 2009 - Page: 1A

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WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday voted to block an amendment by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., that would have required the U.S. Census Bureau to identify non-citizens in next year’s count.

The 60-39 vote was along party lines with Democrats supporting cutting off debate on a spending bill, effectively killing the amendment proposed by the Louisiana Republican.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., voted for what is called cloture, a parliamentary procedure that helps end debate quickly.

She helped provide her party with the 60 votes needed to quash Vitter’s effort.

Vitter called for all federal funding to be cut from the census bureau until it adds a line to the census questionnaire next year asking if a person is a U.S. citizen.

Vitter reasoned the question was necessary because states with higher immigrant populations would benefit from a simple head count.

Population is used to decide how many House members a state has, its electoral delegates for the presidential vote and, in many cases, the amount of federal funding a state receives.

After noncitizens are calculated, they could be removed from the population assessment process, Vitter said.

The current method of counting would guarantee that Louisiana will lose one of its seven House seats when reapportionment happens next year, Vitter said. States such as California and Texas would benefit due to their higher immigrant populations, he said.

Though he didn’t mention Landrieu by name, Vitter expressed disappointment at the vote, which he said was orchestrated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada. Reid blocked an up or down vote on the amendment that would be politically difficult for senators in eight other states that would be in the same situation as Louisiana, Vitter said.

“I was disappointed that several Democrats chose loyalty to Harry Reid over their state’s direct interest in the census,” Vitter said.

Prior to the vote, Vitter made a last pitch to senators to allow his amendment to come up.

“However you may vote, this is an important issue,” Vitter said. “And however you may vote, we need a full debate and a vote.”