Rod Grams: “Today I come to the floor to offer a tribute to a humble man. Yesterday, while I was in Minnesota, I received word that…”

“Today I come to the floor to offer a tribute to a humble man. Yesterday, while I was in Minnesota, I received word that one of my former colleagues from the House of Representatives, Congressman Bruce Vento, had passed away after a battle with cancer. My tribute cannot adequately communicate his successful career, because to Bruce, words always paled in comparison to acts. Bruce was a tireless advocate for the residents of St. Paul, first in the State Legislature and, for the past 24 years, in the U.S. Congress. He was a man of his word and a man of principle. He was a man committed to doing the right thing for the right reason, no matter how long it took. Take for example his work on behalf of Hmong veterans--a large number of whom reside in his Congressional district. He worked on it for over a decade: educating his colleagues about the need to help their constituents and offering the compromises needed to get the job done. I was pleased that after his tireless work Congress after Congress, year after year, Bruce's effort paid off. Earlier this year, Congress passed and the President signed into law his legislation to facilitate citizenship to Hmong veterans who served with us in the Vietnam War.”