Democrats are weighing three responses to Vitter's proposal. Will Dems haul out hookers vs. Vitter?

Senate Democrats have had all they can take from David Vitter and his fixation on Obamacare — and they’re dredging up his past prostitution scandal to hit back.

Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has infuriated Democrats this week by commandeering the Senate floor, demanding a vote on his amendment repealing federal contributions to help pay for lawmakers’ health care coverage.


But Democratic senators are preparing a legislative response targeting a sordid Vitter episode. If Vitter continues to insist on a vote on his proposal, Democrats could counter with one of their own: Lawmakers will be denied those government contributions if there is “probable cause” they solicited prostitutes.

According to draft legislation obtained by POLITICO, Democrats are weighing whether to force a Senate vote on a plan that would effectively resurrect Vitter’s past if the conservative Republican continues to press forward with his Obamacare-bashing proposal.

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Such a hardball move could bring back uncomfortable memories of the 2007 “D.C. Madam” scandal in which Vitter’s phone number turned up in a Washington-based prostitution ring. Vitter apologized for committing a “very serious sin” but did not elaborate. In 2008, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics decided not to move forward with the matter because the alleged conduct occurred before Vitter became a senator.

It’s unclear which Democratic senator will offer the plan or whether a vote will ever come to pass. It was drafted by staff in response to requests by several Democratic senators.

And sources say it was discussed at a Senate Democratic lunch on Thursday.

“Harry Reid is acting like an old-time Vegas mafia thug, and a desperate one at that,” Vitter said in a statement to POLITICO, referring to the Senate majority leader. “This just shows how far Washington insiders will go to protect their special Obamacare exemption.”

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The move comes in response to demands by Vitter for a vote on his plan to repeal a White House Office of Personnel Management regulation. The rule, which came after a congressional uproar, would allow the federal government to continue to pay a contribution to lawmakers’ and aides’ health care coverage under the new exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. The Vitter plan would also require White House officials and political appointees to take part in the exchanges.

There are three options Democratic senators are weighing in response to Vitter’s proposal.

Under one scenario, no federal contribution may be given to a lawmaker or an aide if a congressional ethics committee has “probable cause to determine” that the individual has “engaged in the solicitation of prostitution.”

Another option includes broader language that would deny contributions to those found to have engaged in “improper conduct reflecting discreditably on the congressional office involved.”

And a third proposal would deny coverage to lawmakers who vote for the Vitter plan, even if it doesn’t become law.

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But Democrats have objected to Vitter’s demands to allow his plan to be voted on as part of the energy efficiency bill now before the Senate. The back-and-forth has grown increasingly heated on the floor, leading to a virtual standstill over the energy bill; the Senate has voted just once this week after a five-week summer recess.

“It’s been a totally wasted week,” Reid said on the floor Thursday evening.

Whether the Democrats’ Vitter-focused plan will move forward remains to be seen. But it comes as the fight over congressional health care has emerged as a new test of conservative purity, particularly among Republicans seeking higher office. Vitter is widely seen as a potential candidate for Louisiana governor in 2015.

The push by some conservative Republicans to take aim at congressional health care has put some of their GOP colleagues in an uncomfortable spot. While virtually every Republican has called for a repeal of Obamacare, many of them are fine with the idea of receiving federal contributions to help pay for the coverage provided to them and their staff.

If this government contribution had ended, lawmakers and aides would have faced thousands of dollars in additional premium payments annually. Under the old system, the government contributed nearly 75 percent of premium payments.

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The Office of Personnel Management, under heavy pressure from Capitol Hill, has ruled that the federal government can continue to make a contribution to the health care premiums of members of Congress and their aides. OPM initially balked at such a ruling, but Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Reid — under fire from their rank-and-file lawmakers and staff — pressured President Barack Obama to get personally involved in the matter.

GOP Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Dean Heller of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma are all backing the Vitter proposal, which has angered Democrats.

“Washington shouldn’t be treated differently and better than us,” Vitter said on the floor Thursday. “What’s good for America needs to be good for Washington, and if that rule is applied across the board, you will start getting a lot of things right in Congress and in Washington.”

Since the prostitution scandal erupted in 2007, Vitter has methodically tried to move past it. He won reelection in 2010 and now serves as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

While Vitter never admitted to having used prostitutes, he did offer a public apology for the incident. His wife Wendy stood next to the senator during a high-profile press conference a week after the scandal broke.

“This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible,” Vitter said in a statement. “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling.”

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee seeking an investigation into the matter. But the panel ruled that the allegations stemmed from a period before Vitter announced his Senate candidacy and resulted in no criminal charges and thus dismissed the case without prejudice.

The committee said if the allegations over prostitution were true, the senators would find them to be “reprehensible.”