[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21894]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          ANNOUNCING THE PASSING OF THE HONORABLE BRUCE VENTO

  (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, with great sadness, a sense of personal 
loss and loss to this House, I take the well to announce that at 11:20 
this morning, our colleague, Congressman Bruce Vento, succumbed to 
mesothelioma, asbestos-induced cancer of the lung and peritoneal 
cavity.
  Bruce, in his 12th term, served the people of his district nobly, 
with dignity, with passion, with purpose. He championed environmental 
causes. He championed the needs of the homeless, the voiceless, the 
voteless, those who could not do for themselves. He was an advocate for 
working people. He voted consistently and worked vigorously and 
strenuously, to champion the cause of organized labor in this body. He 
brought a balance to all that he undertook, and with a science teacher-
like care for fact and detail, he pursued his causes with only the 
greatest of dignity and of skill.
  My prayers go out to his wife Sue, to his children, to his 
constituents. I thank the Reverend Chaplain for the prayer for Bruce 
and for his family. I ask all of our colleagues to join their prayers 
with those of the Vento family.

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