Home / News /

Senate kills Vitter's census proposal

November 6, 2009 —

The US Senate on Thursday killed a proposal by. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) which would have caused major changes in the way the Congressional map will be drawn after the next census.

Vitter's proposal would have required the US Census Bureau to identify non-citizens and exclude them from the count which determines how congressional districts will be apportioned among the state. It would probably have saved Louisiana from the loss of one congressional seat, while resulting in the loss of several seats for larger states like California and Texas.

The 60-37 vote, along party lines, cut off debate on a spending bill, effectively killing Vitter's amendment mandating the change.

-- They're calling it "Twittergate." The Florida Republican Party has fired a staffer who allegedly set up a phony Twitter account intended to embarrass Jason Steele, chairman of the Brevard County Republican Party. But Steele, a frequent critic of the party establishment, says higher-ups knew about the prank, and is demanding the resignation of the party chairman and executive director.

-- US Sen. Kay Hagan has withdrawn her recommendation that a state judge who made a ruling favorable to a company with which her husband is associated be appointed to a federal judgeship. Hagan said she had been unaware of Judge Calvin Murphy's ruling in the case, which came nine days after she recommended him for the spot on the federal bench.

-- The South Carolina Supreme Court has decided to take a hands-off approach to the ethics investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford's travel expenses.  The court denied Sanford's motion to keep the State Ethics Commission report secret, and a request from the state House of Representatives requiring that a copy of the report be given to lawmakers.

-- Charlotte Mayor-elect Anthony Foxx used a congratulatory call from President Obama to talk about the importance of banking to the North Carolina city, and later said the federal government could play a role in preventing Bank of America from moving its headquarters out of Charlotte. There are concerns the bank  may move now that Ken Lewis is out as chief executive.