[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 125 (Tuesday, October 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9576-H9582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE BRUCE
VENTO, MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res.
618) and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 618
Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of
the death of the Honorable Bruce F. Vento, a Representative
from the State of Minnesota.
Resolved, That a committee of such Members of the House as
the Speaker may designate, together with such Members of the
Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral.
Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be
authorized and directed to take such steps as may be
necessary for carrying out the provisions of these
resolutions and that the necessary expenses in connection
therewith be paid out of applicable accounts of the House.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to
the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the
deceased.
Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn as
a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Fowler). The gentleman from Minnesota
(Mr. Oberstar) is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, it was with great sadness, a sense of personal loss,
and a loss to this body that at the opening of session today I took the
well to announce that at 11:20 this morning our colleague, our dear
friend, Bruce Vento, succumbed to mesothelioma, asbestos-induced cancer
of the lung and peritoneal cavity.
Madam Speaker, I will reserve my comments for this great and
distinguished legislator, friend, hard-working great American until
later in this 1-hour.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo).
(Mr. SABO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. SABO. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for yielding me this time.
It is a sad day. Bruce Vento and I have been friends for 30 years. I
remember him when he came to the Minnesota State legislature as a new
member. We served 6 years together there, then he preceded me by 2
years in Congress. I watched this young man, who came to the State
legislature as an eager young freshman legislator, grow into one of our
great national leaders on so many issues.
I want to offer my condolences to his wife, Susan, to his sons, his
grandchildren, and the rest of the Vento family. Bruce was always very
close to his family and so proud of them. That was part of his being,
just as being from the east side of St. Paul was part of his being. He
never forgot those roots. He represented the people of that district
with a passion.
Bruce was a person with passion for many, many things: to make sure
that the recent immigrants, the Hmong from his district, who had served
our country, could become citizens.
{time} 1900
A broad array of housing legislation with little special emphasis on
the homeless, but it really went to the totality of housing programs in
this country because he felt people needed decent housing, to dealing
with the complexity of how we deal with financial institutions in this
country.
I always thought it was so fitting that Bruce, the biology teacher in
south Minneapolis, became chair of our Subcommittee on National Parks
and Public Lands because this was another real passion for him. And he
left a real legacy in terms of expanded public lands, expanded parks
and a whole variety of other public facilities in this country that
will be a legacy for many, many future generations to enjoy.
So it is a sad day. But I think, and most importantly, of simply a
good friend.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I am now happy to yield to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Gilman) the chairman of the Committee on
International Relations.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the privileged resolution offered
by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
I want to express my deep sorrow regarding the passing of not only a
good
[[Page H9577]]
colleague who was an outstanding Member of this Chamber, but a dear
friend.
I have known Bruce Vento since he first came to this Chamber back in
1976. He brought with him at that time an enthusiasm, a dedication and
patriotism which caused him to become one of our most respected
colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
Having enjoyed three successful terms in the State legislature of
Minnesota, Bruce brought with him to this Chamber a deep understanding
of the legislative process and the knowledge of how to get things done.
In a testimonial just this past June, President Clinton credited
Bruce with steering into law more than 300 bills to protect our
Nation's natural resources.
I had the opportunity to come to know Bruce well when we had occasion
to travel together overseas. He participated on several occasions in
the U.S. delegation that meets with the European parliament where he
made particularly significant contributions to discussions on areas
such as transatlantic cooperation to protect the environment.
As chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, I
worked closely with Bruce in his commendable efforts to make American
citizens of the Hmong, an ethnic Laotian group which fought with our
own forces during the Vietnam conflict. These courageous people were
indeed fortunate to have such a champion as Bruce Vento.
When Democrats controlled the House, Bruce Vento served as chairman
of our Subcommittee on Natural Resources, and in that capacity he
helped my own district preserve Sterling Forest as a virgin territory.
To his wife Susan and his three sons, my spouse Georgia and I and our
colleagues unite in extending our deep condolences with the knowledge
that Bruce Vento was a giant among us whose shoes will be difficult to
fill.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks,
and I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson).
(Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota asked and was given permission to revise
and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding.
Madam Speaker, it is a tough day for all of us from Minnesota. Bruce
was not only a good friend of ours and a colleague, but he was someone
that was, in the tradition of Minnesota, which has sent all kinds of
outstanding elected leaders to Washington and St. Paul and throughout
our elected offices in Minnesota, without a doubt, Bruce Vento was at
the top of that list of great leaders that we have sent to Washington
from Minnesota.
As many of you know, he spent a good part of his life teaching and
then serving the interests of his people there in St. Paul, both in the
legislature and in Congress. And he did that with so much compassion,
so much dignity. I am sure that his constituents are the ones that are
feeling the loss as much as anybody, because he really went to bat for
them. No matter who they were, no matter what status in life they came
from, Bruce Vento was always there fighting for his constituents.
I extend the deepest condolences to his wife Susan and his family,
who Bruce thought so much of.
Bruce and I worked together on a lot of things. We agreed on a lot of
things, and there were things that we did not agree on. But the thing
that I really appreciated about Bruce was that, even though we
sometimes would be on opposite sides of the issue, we always were good
friends and he always treated us with tremendous respect and dignity.
I just think that he is, without a doubt, one of the greatest Members
of this House. He will be missed a lot by myself and I think all of our
colleagues and especially by the people of Minnesota.
So I thank the gentleman very much for inviting me to speak.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad).
Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding and for
organizing this resolution and tribute to our dear friend and
colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Vento).
This is, Madam Speaker, truly a sad day for all Minnesotans. We have
lost a great public servant. Congress has lost its champion of the
environment.
Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with Bruce's family, with his
wonderful wife, Susan Lynch Vento; with Bruce's sons, Michael, Peter
and John; and their families as well.
For 24 years, Bruce Vento served the people of Minnesota's Fourth
Congressional District with great integrity and a strong commitment to
helping people in need. His work to protect the environment, provide
affordable housing, his work to help the homeless and open new doors
for immigrants, his work has truly established a lasting legacy.
I was privileged over the last 10 years to work in this body closely
with Bruce Vento on a number of legislative initiatives, and I deeply
respected Bruce as a colleague and a friend like all of us here in the
House.
The people of Minnesota and the Nation will sorely miss Bruce's
vigilant protection of our environment. When it comes to protecting the
environment, Bruce Vento was truly a global champion. Whether it was
defending our precious Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness, helping
the homeless, providing affordable housing, or aiding our newest
immigrants in Minnesota, our Hmong community, Bruce always made his
case with great eloquence and great passion.
Bruce Vento, Madam Speaker, represented the best in public service.
And his integrity, his work ethic, his strong commitment to the people
of Minnesota will continue to inspire all of us.
May you rest in peace, dear friend.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield now to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Luther).
Mr. LUTHER. Madam Speaker, I thank very much the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for organizing this evening's effort, the
leader of our delegation in Minnesota.
Madam Speaker, I think one of the most difficult things that any of
us can do is to come to this floor to talk about the passing of a
friend and a colleague. And I, like the others, want to extend my
sympathies to Susan, a good friend as well, and to the entire Vento
family. The family is just an outstanding Minnesota family, and I want
to extend my sympathies to each and every member.
Bruce was a dear friend and an extremely sincere, hard-working,
dedicated person as a Member of this body. He touched all of us in so
many ways.
The adjectives could go on and on when describing a person like
Bruce. I think most people will remember him for his tireless work on
behalf of the environment, on behalf of the homeless. I will remember
him for these efforts and a dimension that has already been touched on
here but that is the dimension of always looking out for the interest
of the common person.
No matter what the issue was, Bruce just had this ability to see
beyond the special interests and all the glamor of Washington and the
influences in Washington and just look at how this would affect the
common person and how he could best represent that common person.
I will also remember Bruce as a legislator who was more concerned
about rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done rather than
issuing press releases and taking credit. And I think that really truly
earned him the respect and friendship of so many people in this body.
So that, even if he could have a battle over an issue with others in
the body, he developed an incredible friendship and following here
within this body.
I think that was pointed out so vividly at the time that he came to
the well of the House and actually advised us of his particular
illness. The outpouring of support that day just shows that a person
that conducts himself the way he did, the kind of support and
friendship that he can have in this body.
I think young people looking to get involved in public service in our
country can look to Bruce Vento as a model of a public servant, the
kind of person we learned about as young people that are the models for
us. And I think young people today can look at his life.
Perhaps most vivid in my own personal memory will be the way in which
[[Page H9578]]
he welcomed me to the House when I was first elected here after the
1994 election. I had served briefly with Bruce in the Minnesota
legislature for a couple of years before he came to Congress; and so, I
knew Bruce. But he had moved on to this body long before I had. He
welcomed me with open arms. There simply is no one who spent more time
making sure that I was adjusted, that I understood how this institution
operated compared to the Minnesota legislature.
Afterwards I started thinking about that and I thought to myself, you
know, he is not treating me any different than he would treat anyone
else. Yes, I knew him from the Minnesota legislature. But it did not
matter who you were, Bruce Vento would open his arms to you, he would
welcome you in, he would take whatever time was necessary in order to
make sure that you felt comfortable, that you were achieving what you
wanted to achieve. That is the kind of person we are talking about here
this evening. He was really just an outstanding Member of Congress and
an outstanding individual. I have no doubt that his legacy will live on
for many years.
In conclusion, I would simply say that, now that he has passed away,
it is up to the rest of us to carry on the work and the commitment of
Bruce Vento.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota
(Mr. Gutknecht).
Mr. GUTKNECHT. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from
Minnesota for offering this resolution tonight.
This hardly seems possible. It seems just a few months ago that Bruce
was strong and healthy and vigorous. I would see him in the House gym
in the morning. He loved to go for a swim, and so did I. And he would
be in the pool when I got there at 7 o'clock and he would still be in
the pool when I left. He was probably in better condition than
virtually any other Member here in the Congress. And to think that this
terrible disease drained the life out of him in such a short period of
time just really does not seem possible.
{time} 1915
In many respects, Bruce Vento typified, I think, the best of public
service. And I think those of us from Minnesota do have a special pride
for the kind of public service that Bruce Vento believed in. In many
respects, the way he died also symbolized the way he lived. He was
prepared to fight for what he believed in, even against insurmountable
odds, as he fought these last several months against a disease which
would not surrender. But he was passionate about those things. And I
have come to respect and admire him so much for the way that he would
fight even on those issues on which we disagreed, and as a member of
the Minnesota delegation, the institutional wisdom that he brought on
all of the issues that affected our entire State and when we worked
together on issues that were important to Minnesota, we all worked
together and we all listened when he spoke and we all appreciated his
wisdom. The contributions that he made on the environment and so many
other issues will be remembered for many, many years to come.
There is an expression up above the Speaker's rostrum, a quote from
Noah Webster and it closes with these words: ``So that we in our day
and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.''
Well, Bruce Vento will be remembered, because he performed many things
in this body worthy to be remembered. Bruce Vento will be remembered
and ultimately he will be succeeded. But he will never be replaced. We
can only hope and pray, and I will say that as he approaches the next
part of life's journey, that he will be greeted with these words,
``Well done, o good and noble servant.''
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge).
Mr. MINGE. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for arranging for this opportunity to pay our
tributes to Bruce Vento. Bruce had a distinguished and very vigorous
career here in Congress. He was an advocate for the environment and for
all Americans. His work set a high standard for public service. He
raised the bar for all of us. We are and we will continue to be
challenged to match his level of commitment and accomplishment.
I certainly learned from him of the ways to be more effective in this
legislative process, in this body. I have been inspired as have many
others by his commitment to opportunity, particularly in the areas of
education, housing, financial services and citizenship. Bruce clearly
believed that all Americans, especially those of us from humble
backgrounds and limited means, must have full opportunity to
participate in our society and that this meant very vigorous and
dedicated work on behalf of all of our constituents.
I would like to simply point out two things that Bruce worked on that
I deeply respected and certainly felt keenly his sense of
accomplishment. The first is his work on behalf of Hmong residents of
our country, a group of individuals from Laos that had come to the
United States after the Vietnam War who were essentially people without
a nation, without a home. He championed their cause here in Congress
and spearheaded the effort in the House of Representatives to grant
citizenship to Hmong.
In connection with conservation and the environment, he and I shared
a keen interest in cleaning up and providing wildlife habitat in the
river systems in the upper Midwest, and particularly the Minnesota and
the Mississippi Rivers. What he did for the river front area of St.
Paul is truly remarkable and is a lasting accomplishment for our State
and our Nation. What he did in connection with the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area is also outstanding. He was a tireless advocate. It was a
controversial issue within our delegation, within our State. But Bruce
would not give up. He insisted on protecting this important resource.
And in the end, he and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar)
reached an understanding or an accommodation, shook hands and moved
forward shoulder to shoulder on behalf of an arrangement which he
believed preserved the very best and the very essence of this important
Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I and many others shared that commitment
and that concern with him.
I have gotten to know Bruce's wife, Susan Lynch, a remarkable person,
and our sympathies go out to her and to Bruce's sons, to his
grandchildren and others in the Vento family in this great loss. It
certainly is an occasion for all of us to examine our priorities, our
commitments, our role and, as I said earlier, when it comes to our role
and our work, Bruce Vento raised the bar and all of us are challenged
to redouble our efforts to maintain the level of commitment and
accomplishment that Bruce has established.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he
may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), chairman of the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services.
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota and
his fellow Minnesotans for taking responsibility to introduce this
resolution for our friend Bruce. Bruce and I came into Congress
together and for 24 years we served on the same committee. Of all the
Members I have ever dealt with and known, Bruce combined an almost
innate sense of idealism with a can-do practicality and how to apply it
to the legislative process.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote:
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of
false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in
others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by healthy
child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know
even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Bruce succeeded in each and every way. He will be much missed.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is a high privilege for me this evening
to join in this resolution introduced by the dean of the Minnesota
delegation and the Minnesota Members to participate in this remembrance
of our beloved colleague, Bruce Vento. I can
[[Page H9579]]
say that I have known Bruce for 18 years now. As a new Member of
Congress, he sat right behind me, that meant he had more seniority, on
the Committee on Banking and Financial Services. He welcomed me just as
other Members have indicated he welcomed them as they came. What was
great for me, and I say this to his family as they are enduring this
great, great loss, he was so friendly. In the days when he first came,
there were only about two dozen women in the House, and I was not an
attorney in a body with about 75 percent of the Members who were
attorneys, and to discover he was a biologist who had been an educator
made me feel right at home. As we would go through amendments in the
committee, I found a real friend who would talk to me and who would
bring me along, that made me feel that I was an equal Member. As I came
to know his other committee work outside of banking where he championed
the needs of the homeless before it became a popular expression in the
country, or homes for people who had difficulty with affordability. I
learned about his tremendous interest in the environment. He was quite
a bicyclist. And I watched his work in literally every congressional
district across this country, as a real successor to Johnny Appleseed
and the great American tradition of love of the outdoors.
In my own district, for example, we have the Maumee Heritage Corridor
now. The Maumee River is the largest river that empties into the Great
Lakes. Without Bruce Vento, that designation would not be possible. And
the discovery of the Fallen Timbers battle site which ranks with
Yorktown and Gettysburg as one of the three most important battle sites
in the founding of the republic would not be possible without the
legislative efforts of Bruce Vento.
And so I just wanted to come down here to say that I shall always
remember Bruce Vento. And as a representative of the people of my
district, I will say that I remember his great ability, his great
humor, his great service as an educator as well as a lawmaker. I will
remember him talking to me throughout my career about the importance of
housing as well as the needs of the underserved and America's greatest,
greatest lawmaker in my era in terms of the environment and our open
spaces and our needs to continue to conserve our beautiful land and our
resources.
I just say again to his family and to his beloved Minnesota
colleagues, we have lost a dear friend and a great lawmaker.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he
may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).
Mr. HINCHEY. Madam Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for organizing this opportunity
for us to pay tribute to a great representative of the American people.
The men and women of this House have lost a warm and wonderful
colleague. The people of St. Paul and Minnesota have lost a passionate
and powerfully effective advocate. And the people of America have lost
a very model of what a Member of this Congress should and ought to be.
Bruce Vento was all of that and more. I had the privilege of serving
with him for 6 years on both the Committee on Banking and Financial
Services and the Committee on Resources. In that experience, I learned
a great deal from him about the Nation's banking system and our need to
protect and preserve soundness and security within that system, and
although I thought I knew a great deal about the environment and
America's natural places, I learned more than I ever thought was
possible from listening to Bruce and traveling with him.
My first term here in the Congress, he organized a trip as chairman
of the Subcommittee on Parks of the Committee on Resources into the Bob
Marshall which is the wildest area in the lower 48 States. After a day
of traveling to a remote camp, we arose early the next morning and rode
10 miles on horseback and then later in the day another 10 miles on
foot to a very remote lake on the edge of the Cascade Mountains. In
that experience with Bruce and members of the Forest Service, I learned
a great deal about America's wild places and the need to protect and
preserve them. And I learned them from someone who as a biologist was
fortified with the knowledge that made his advocacy as a
conservationist and a naturalist even more effective.
Bruce Vento was, yes, a great representative for the people that he
served and for all of the people of this Nation, but I think
fundamentally he was a teacher. In everything that he did, he sought
the opportunity to expand knowledge, his own as well as those around
him. Anyone who had the opportunity to spend any time with him
whatsoever, engaged in conversation with him, learned a great deal
about a myriad variety of subjects on which he was very, very
knowledgeable. We have lost a dear friend, a good colleague, a strong
advocate.
I would hope that at a time not far from this moment, this Congress
would turn its attention toward designating some appropriate place in
this country among the wild areas, among the natural areas of America,
to name in honor of the service of Bruce Vento to the people of
Minnesota and to the people of America.
{time} 1930
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and for his
suggestion of a naming, and I would say that we are working on one or
two in Minnesota. Already an elementary school has been named for Bruce
Vento. There are two other designations that we are working on that we
hoped to have accomplished before the end of this session, but his
death preceded our best efforts.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Cleveland, Ohio (Mrs. Jones).
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for organizing this hour.
Madam Speaker, as I sit here, I realize I am probably the person who
is speaking who knew Bruce Vento the least amount of time. I just came
to Congress in this 106th Congress and had the fortune of serving on
the Committee on Banking and Financial Services with Bruce Vento, as
well as the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Now,
when one is a freshman, as the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) said,
one sits way down in the front and the more higher ranking members sit
way in the back. So when we started, because this is such a large body,
one does not get to know all of the Members; but one gets to know the
people they serve on the committee with.
The thing I remember first about Bruce Vento was that deep voice. So
when we went through the roll, they would say Vento, here or yes, and I
would turn around and try to figure out who it was.
Luckily on the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, the
room was much smaller, and so he sat right behind me. Many chances I
got to say so and so and how are you doing and the like. All I can say
is having only known him about 20 months or less, he was good at, as
everyone said, instructing and teaching. Through the H.R. 10 financial
modernization, I always looked to hear what he had to say as we went
through our hearings. Through the housing situations, I agreed with him
about the need for affordable housing.
Dr. Martin Luther King says these words: ``God can do tremendous
things through the person who does not care who gets the credit,'' and
I think that most exemplifies Bruce Vento.
I am pleased to be here this evening. I did not know his wife. I did
not know his family; but as just one little Member of Congress, I say
to them that they have my condolences and my prayers, and I know where
Bruce Vento is. He is up among the birds and the trees on a lake
somewhere just laying back and enjoying it, and I pray that he enjoys
the rest of his time.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who sat side by side with Mr.
Vento for so many years on the Committee on Resources.
Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Oberstar) for yielding me this time.
Bruce Vento and I came to Congress together in 1977, and for many
years we
[[Page H9580]]
were seat mates on the Committee on Resources. Like me, he was a
schoolteacher and brought his ability to instruct others to this
Congress. He understood and could explain the intricacies of banking
legislation in very, very clear detail. His well-known love for the
environment and its protection has enriched our country beyond measure.
For several years, his family and my family would celebrate
Thanksgiving together, with great joy and filled with wonderful
animated conversation.
This country is clearly a better country because of Bruce Vento, and
I know that I am a better person because of Bruce Vento. May the angels
receive you into paradise, dear friend.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). He may be the gentleman from
Georgia, but he is also the gentleman from all America.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and
colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for holding
this special order and paying tribute to our friend, our colleague, and
our brother, Bruce Vento.
Madam Speaker, I came to the Congress in 1987 when I first met Bruce
Vento. I was more than lucky but really truly blessed to serve on the
old Interior Committee with Bruce. Bruce was our Chair, the Chair of
the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands; and it was a
delight and wonderful to serve with this wonderful, gifted, talented
human being.
He loved America. He loved open space, the land. He wanted to do as
much as possible to preserve some of this beauty and leave it a little
cleaner for future generations.
I had an opportunity to travel with Bruce on one occasion, I will
never forget, for a hearing we held in Minnesota at the State Capitol,
dealing with protecting the Mississippi. While I was there, I am not
sure whether it was on a Monday or a Tuesday, but it was a Taste of
Minnesota Day. Bruce took me out of the State Capitol, and the members
of the subcommittee. We went out on the grounds and we tasted all of
this wonderful food that Bruce introduced me to.
He was very delightful in introducing a poor guy who grew up in
Alabama, now living in Georgia, to this very special and wonderful food
in Minnesota.
I had an opportunity to invite Bruce to come to Atlanta, and he came
to Georgia. We held a hearing on the Martin Luther King Historic Site,
and I would say today if it had not been for our friend and colleague,
Bruce Vento, neither the Martin Luther King Historic Site in Atlanta,
nor the historic trail, Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery, would be
in existence.
Bruce never gave up. He had a vision of making America better, saving
the land, saving the forests; and I truly believe when historians pick
up their pens and write about this period in our history they will have
to say this man, our colleague, our friend, Bruce Vento, made a
difference.
So on behalf of myself and my wife, Lillian, that Bruce would ask me
about from time to time, how is Lillian, I want to say to Bruce's
family, his wife and children, you have our sympathy. You will be kept
in our prayers; and we will never, ever forget the likeness of this one
giant among us. He will be deeply missed.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Lewis) for those heartfelt, very touching words.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), my good friend and colleague, for giving me
time to say these things concerning this great American.
Madam Speaker, I too am truly saddened to learn of our colleague's
passing today. Congressman Bruce Vento was truly a champion and one of
the outstanding leaders of this institution whenever conservation and
environmental issues were deliberated and debated in this Chamber. As a
senior member of the House Committee on Resources, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Vento) let it be known to all the members of our
committee and to all of our colleagues where the line is drawn whenever
environmental issues are taken up by this body.
In the many years that he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands, I can attest to my colleagues and to
our Nation that some 300 bills that have become law have Vento's
signature on them. I can honestly say that even the national park that
is now established in my own district was due mainly to Vento's
leadership and legislative skills that Congress passed a law to have
this national park in my district.
I want to express the sense of appreciation and gratitude from our
traditional leaders and from the people of American Samoa to Mr. Vento.
Madam Speaker, I am going to miss this gentle giant, and I say giant,
from Minnesota. I have always valued his opinions and how much he has
influenced my own thinking about life itself. I remember when he
visited our national park in American Samoa, none of us were able to
catch up with them when he was climbing one of the steep mountains,
even on the roads and the trails that were so muddy that not even the
four-wheel vehicles could make it.
Madam Speaker, I want to convey to Mrs. Vento and the family the
condolences of the people of my district. Our people have a saying in a
traditional sense, ia manuia lau faigamalaga lau afioga Bruce Vento.
May you have a good and successful voyage, Your Honor, Bruce Vento.
Again, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for
yielding me time to honor this great American.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American
Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for those wonderful words from your native
land that our colleague would so much appreciate.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for yielding me this time.
Madam Speaker, I commend him and the rest of the Minnesota delegation
for organizing this special order to pay tribute to a dear friend,
Bruce Vento.
Bruce Vento was a dear friend and a dear colleague of mine, who I
greatly respected and admired. Even though I have had the privilege of
serving with him for the past 4 years in the United States Congress, I
knew of Bruce Vento as an admirer from afar, given his work on
conservation and environmental measures and as a resident of western
Wisconsin just across the river from his congressional district.
Since coming to Congress, I had the privilege of serving with him on
the Committee on Resources and the Subcommittee on National Parks and
Public Lands; and he was a natural leader on the Committee on
Resources, unquestionably, given his profound interest and depth of
knowledge and expertise on these issues of 24 years serving on the
Committee on Resources; 10 of those years as Chair of the Subcommittee
on National Parks and Public Lands, to which the Nation owes him a debt
of gratitude.
His strong leadership on the Committee on Resources resulted in
protecting hundreds of thousands of acreage and the enactment of over
300 laws preserving the environment, from the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness Area, a place that holds special meaning to me since I
try to get up there for a week every summer with some brothers and
friends to spend time in the Boundary Waters Area canoeing and camping;
to the Minnesota National Wildlife Refuge; to the new parks and
wilderness that were created in Alaska and even in American Samoa, as
our good friend just stated earlier.
What especially impressed me about Bruce Vento was his concern about
some of the most disenfranchised and politically powerless people that
exist in our country, from the homeless to his concern for housing
issues but especially his tireless advocacy for the Hmong population in
this country. Both Bruce Vento and I share a sizable Hmong population
in our respective congressional districts. That is why I was especially
proud to be able to join forces with Bruce on a number of issues that
affected Hmong rights, but most particularly the Hmong Veterans
Naturalization Act that Bruce championed for quite a few years and
which
[[Page H9581]]
ultimately was passed into law this year, that recognizes the
tremendous contribution that Hmong veterans and their families gave
U.S. armed services personnel during the war in Southeast Asia.
These were people who fought side by side with our veterans of the
Vietnam conflict. They were there building the landing strips for our
air personnel. They were there rescuing downed pilots during the
Vietnam War, and they were the ones who were most persecuted after the
war, many of whom were able to seek refuge and safety in the United
States. But these were not a very politically powerful or a large
political constituency, and they were a group of people who were in
search of a leader to represent their views and to bring fairness and
decency to their cause, and that is what Bruce Vento provided them.
This was not a political issue for him, but it was an issue of doing
right by our friends and allies and recognizing their contribution.
Perhaps there are going to be many living legacies that Bruce Vento has
given us in this Nation, but I could not think of one more important or
more lasting than providing a home in a country for the Hmong
population who live with us today.
The people in Minnesota and Wisconsin and the entire United States
will sorely miss Congressman Bruce Vento. I am proud to have served
with him and to have called him my friend, but I especially appreciated
the moments we shared together on our numerous flights to and from the
Twin Cities and out here to Washington.
{time} 1945
He and I would oftentimes be sitting next to each other, which gave
me a wonderful opportunity to pick his brain and talk about legislation
and policy issues. I enjoyed listening to his stories of his recent
bike trips that he enjoyed doing time and time again, but I especially
liked listening to his stories about his family.
For a guy who was as busy and as committed as Bruce Vento was on the
great public policy issues of our day and the work that he did in the
United States Congress, he always kept family first. He was so proud of
his children, but especially proud of his grandchildren. You could just
see his face light up with joy and excitement talking about his latest
discovery of a grandchild, or of seeing the world anew through his
grandchildren.
That, for a young Member of Congress, that drove home a very
important point and lesson that I have committed to my own service
here. That was to not lose focus or proper perspective on the role and
the importance of family life and spending enough time with our own
children, and hopefully someday for myself, even my grandchildren.
He will be missed. He will never be replaced. But I can honestly say
that this country is definitely a better place due to his efforts. I
thank him for his advice and guidance, and may he rest in peace.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she
may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding
time to me.
I am feeling very sad today and bad today because I had meant to
write a note to Bruce Vento and did not do it in time. What I wanted to
tell him, maybe I can pass on in some way to his family, was to thank
him for his incredible generosity to a freshman Member of the United
States Congress.
I served with him on the Committee on Banking and Financial Services
and on the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. At one
point last year, early in my very first term, I had a press conference
dealing with funding for low-income housing. While I had invited a lot
of Members to come, one of the few that showed up was Bruce Vento, who
is a very important member on that committee. I was really honored for
him to be there.
Among the things he said were nice things about me, which was so
greatly appreciated, and so unnecessary. When I presented my very first
amendment on the floor of the House, rather clumsily, it would have
been a whole lot worse if Bruce Vento had not been there, because he
stood by my side and told me exactly what I should do. And then he
spoke to the amendment, which was fairly noncontroversial, a big deal
to me, and I think he knew that, because he came down not so much
because he supported it, which he did, but I think he came down to the
floor to support me, which, again, was greatly appreciated.
In a town where people say, ``If you want a friend, get a dog,''
Bruce Vento was the kind of person who would really be a friend, no
strings attached. He wanted to help people because he was a kind and a
generous and a decent and a nice person.
So in addition to all the wonderful contributions that he has made to
our country, I wanted to tell him that I really appreciated how kind he
was to me. I want to express my deepest condolences to his family, and
just to say that I will miss him very much.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he
may consume to the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood).
Mr. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time
to me.
I, too, rise to pay tribute to the passing of our friend and
colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota, Bruce Vento. Much has been
said already by a number of Members regarding how he dealt with
freshman Members and how willing he was to devote his time and energy
to explain things.
I would have to say that as a first-termer elected in the 103rd
Congress, he was chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks and
Public Lands. He helped me pass my very first bill, which was a bill
relating to the War in the Pacific Park in Guam, and how he took the
time not only to help me shepherd that bill through, but there was a
significant amount of time that he devoted committee resources to.
He was a marvelous teacher, and in many respects, coming from the
field of education, I feel a very special kinship to him because I,
too, am a teacher. He was able to evidence the best in teaching
behavior, not only in how he carried himself here as a legislator, but
how he interacted individually with Members.
He was a persistent, unrelenting friend of the environment,
constantly on focus, sometimes much to the distraction of those who
opposed him. Having observed him and participated with him in many
discussions in the Committee on Resources, he was very unrelenting, but
I think in an admirable way in and in a way that people honored and
recognized his expertise and his commitment and his passion.
There will be or there should be no occasion for any American not to
know the work of Bruce Vento when they go around and see the national
parks in this country, and see his commitment to protecting the
environment and making sure that, for generations yet unborn, they,
too, will benefit and profit from green spaces and from understanding
the connection that we all have to the environment and to each other.
In my capacity as chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific caucus,
I learned another dimension about Bruce; that is, his passion and his
work for the Hmong people, and again, in a way that I had not thought
about. Again, he demonstrated what kind of a legislator he was; that he
was wide-ranging, that he understood his responsibility to his
constituents, and he understood the unique circumstances which the
Hmong people in his district lived under, and he took steps to
alleviate and to mediate, help mediate their experience here in the
United States.
Of course, his work for the homeless is legendary.
So in many, many ways, we will all miss Bruce. I wanted just to have
the opportunity to express my personal gratitude for his efforts in
helping me as a freshman Member shepherd my first piece of legislation
through this body and through committees, and also to thank him for his
efforts in that regard; to pay tribute to his unrelenting commitment
and passion for the environment; and to express my sincerest
condolences to his family.
We will miss him, and I am sure he is in a better place.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. I would
express my great appreciation to all the
[[Page H9582]]
Members who have stayed long after the legislative business of the
House to express their profound respect for the work of Bruce Vento in
this body, for the friendship that he has meant to each of them.
Bruce Vento, like all of us, had great moments in this body, but none
was greater than the moment that he took some months ago in the well of
this House to address us all about the illness which had afflicted him
and which he knew would take his life.
What stands out is that in a time of rancor, in a body where
campaigns have moved from the hinterlands to the House floor and have
so often spilled over into invective, that was a shining moment for
this House, where he spoke of the politics of joy and of hope, of the
meaning of public service, and his pride in serving the people of his
district, of his State, and of his country.
It was a great moment for the House of Representatives, one that will
be enshrined forever, not just in the Record, but in the hearts of all
of us who were privileged to hear that beautiful outpouring of the
meaning of this great deliberative body.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), who sat side by side
with Bruce Vento throughout all these 12 terms.
Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I think my friend for yielding time to me.
Indeed, Bruce Vento was a dear colleague to me, as well. Having
served with him, as well as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee),
side by side, first on the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, and
now on the Committee on Resources for my 24 years in this body, to say
that Bruce Vento knew what was in every piece of legislation that came
before our committee is not an understatement.
As I said, having sat next to him, I could see him and would marvel
at the way he would read every piece of bill upon which he were asked
to vote, with that red highlight pen underlining the pertinent pieces
of every piece of legislation that came before our committee.
Truly, he was a knowledgeable Member of this body. He was dedicated
to our environment. He came with me to my district in southern West
Virginia, rode on our whitewater rivers, and came back and helped me
craft legislation to preserve those rivers for generations to come.
Bruce was in my class. We came to this body in 1977. Throughout our
years together, he was a man who truly lived the words ``public
servant'' to their fullest.
To his wife, to his family, to his friends back in Minnesota who he
so ably served, I do say, we shall all miss him. Bruce Vento was a dear
friend to all of us.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, in the few moments that remain, there was only one
other person who in my memory stands out for having taken the well of
the House to address his colleagues on the meaning of life and the
meaning of legislative service. That was Senator Hubert Humphrey, who
was invited by this body to address the House from the Clerk's desk.
Parenthetically, when he arrived there, he looked out over this
assembled gathering of Members of the House and Members of the Senate
and said, ``Oh, you don't know how long I have waited to stand here and
make this speech.''
Bruce and I were standing together and marvelled at this wonderful
expose of the meaning of the legislative process and of service to
humanity. Little did either of us realize years later he, too, would
take the well to give a similar civics lesson, one from the heart, on
the meaning of comity and of service.
At the fundraising event in Bruce's honor where funds were raised for
a scholarship program for science students, little red pine seedlings
were handed out. I took three of those, one for each of his sons,
because I had a sense then that we were witnessing a drama that would
play itself out in the end of his life in some months.
I planted those seedlings in our backyard. They are thriving. They
will get another place where they will get more light, more strength.
They will be a symbol to all of us of this recurring resource that
Bruce fought so hard to preserve, to protect: the flora, the fauna, the
water, the air, the land.
{time} 2000
At the end of life, we will not be judged by how large a surplus we
left, how large a nuclear arsenal, how great an Army we left behind us,
or by how many bills had been enacted into law. We will be judged by, I
was naked and you clothed me; I was hungry and you fed me; I was
homeless and you took me in.
When we cloth our fellow human beings in dignity, when we take the
homeless into our hearts, into our lives, and when we feed the hungry
with the spirit that gives life, we are truly doing the Lord's work in
this life. That was Bruce Vento. That was all that he committed himself
to do in public service.
With Samuel Gompers, Bruce can say I came into the labor movement
with one purpose, to leave it a better place and a better movement than
I found it in. Bruce leaves this body, his city, his district, his
constituents these resources of land and air and water and the
creatures among them in better condition than he found them in.
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart
that I join my colleagues tonight in this tribute to Congressman Bruce
Vento. We all knew that someday Members of Congress would stand in the
well of the House in tribute to Bruce Vento's many accomplishments, it
is truly sad that this day has come too soon. Since coming to Congress
8 years ago, I have had the pleasure of a close relationship with
Congressman Vento on the Banking Committee.
The Banking Committee deals with some of the most complex issues in
all of Congress. Congressman Vento put in the time, attended all the
hearings, and mastered all these complex problems. As a teacher himself
prior to coming to Congress, he became a resource to all Committee
members, providing counsel on a host of from financial modernization to
complex housing programs.
Congressman Vento served as a tireless advocate for all consumers on
the committee. He truly stood up for working people of all stripes time
and time again. He made it a focus to make sure that individuals rights
are protected by law as they interact with the most powerful financial
companies in the world. His legacy on the committee and his impact on
consumer banking law will live forward for decades to come.
From timeless issues such as housing for the poor, to newer issues
like the protection of consumers' private banking information in the
online world, Congressman Vento was ahead of the curve, and on the
people's side. I will truly miss Congressman Vento, Congress is truly
diminished by his absence. Let me convey to Congressman Vento's family,
his dedicated longtime staff here in Washington and Minnesota, and to
the people of Congressman Vento's 4th district my strongest, and
heartfelt condolences.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Fowler). Without objection, the
previous question is ordered on the resolution.
There was no objection.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________