[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.

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