Rep. Bruce Vento; Aided Environment, Homeless

Minnesota Rep. Bruce F. Vento, who championed legislation to protect the environment, help the homeless and make it easier for the ethnic Hmong people of Laos to attain U.S. citizenship, died Tuesday after a bout with lung cancer. He marked his 60th birthday Saturday.

The 12-term liberal Democrat died at his home in St. Paul. In February, he announced that he would not seek reelection after he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. His treatment included the removal of one lung, chemotherapy and radiation, but doctors discovered more cancer last month.

As a young man, Vento worked as a state-paid laborer in several St. Paul-area facilities where he said he was exposed to asbestos fibers. Two weeks ago he filed a lawsuit against 11 companies that allegedly supplied or installed asbestos products at those sites.

Vento made his most significant legislative contributions on environmental issues, which he called his “true passion.” When Democrats controlled the House, Vento was chairman of the Natural Resources subcommittee on national parks, forests and lands for 10 years, pushing for more money for national parks and other environmental priorities.

He worked on efforts to ban oil drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to preserve tropical rain forests. The Wilderness Society recognized Vento’s work in 1994 with the Ansel Adams Conservation Award.

“He’s been a hero,” said Debbie Sease, legislative director of the Sierra Club. “He’s done more for parks than anyone I know.”

President Clinton paid tribute to Vento at a dinner in June for the congressman’s environmental record and work on behalf of the homeless.

“He has steered into law more than 300 bills to protect our natural resources,” Clinton said. “The thing I like even more about Bruce Vento is, he cares about people, especially people without a voice--the homeless.”

Born in St. Paul, Vento received a bachelor of science degree from Wisconsin State University and did graduate work at the University of Minnesota. He was a science and social studies teacher before winning a seat in the state House of Representatives in 1970. He was first elected to Congress in 1976.

Vento had long pushed a bill to make it easier for Hmong immigrants who had fought in the CIA’s secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War era to become U.S. citizens. The bill called for waiving the English-language requirement for them.

After he was diagnosed with cancer, Vento made passage of the legislation a top priority. His effort ended successfully when Congress approved the measure in May.

The bill, which President Clinton signed that month, waives the English-language requirement for as many as 45,000 Hmong veterans and their spouses or widows, and allows them to take the citizenship test with the aid of interpreters. More than 200,000 Hmong live in the United States, with large numbers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California’s Central Valley.

“This bill would have never been conceived or passed if it had not been for Bruce Vento,” said Philip Smith, Washington director of the Lao Veterans of America, which lobbied on behalf of the legislation. “He reached across the aisle and worked and persevered to make this happen. He is our hero. He is a champion of the Hmong people.”

Vento is survived by his wife, Susan Lynch Vento, whom he married in August, and three sons from a previous marriage.