Orrin Hatch: “today I pay tribute to the senior Senator from Louisiana, my friend David Vitter. Over more than a decade, I have had…”

“today I pay tribute to the senior Senator from Louisiana, my friend David Vitter. Over more than a decade, I have had the privilege to get to know David as a colleague and a friend. When he retires in January, he will be greatly missed. David is a New Orleans man, born and raised. In his younger years, he achieved impressive academic feats, graduating from Harvard and earning a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford. As he is fond of telling, after his time in England, he applied to three law schools--Harvard, Yale, and Tulane--and chose to attend the best of the three: Tulane. Just a few years later, he won a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. There, he earned a reputation as an ethics crusader--a reputation that has stuck with him throughout his career. Many observers credit him in no small part with the transformation of his home state's politics--once famously dominated by colorful but ethically questionable characters--and he should be rightfully pleased at the fruits his efforts bore for the State he loves. In Washington, his work to strengthen ethics laws at the Federal level may not have always made him the most popular among his colleagues, but they reflect the same spirit of reform and willingness to stand up for what he believes in that have been the hallmarks of David's career. On the legislative front, David has been a champion for his conservative values and his beloved Louisiana.…”