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Bruce Vento
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's4th district
In office January 3, 1977 – October 10, 2000
Preceded by	Joseph Karth
Succeeded by	Betty McCollum
Member of theMinnesota House of Representatives from the 66A district
In office January 2, 1973 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	Willis Eken
Succeeded by	Gene Waldorf
Member of theMinnesota House of Representatives from the 44A district
In office January 5, 1971 – January 2, 1973
Preceded by	John C. Chenoweth
Succeeded by	Lyndon Carlson
Personal details
Born	Bruce Frank Vento (1940-10-07)October 7, 1940 Saint Paul,Minnesota, U.S.
Died	October 10, 2000(2000-10-10) (aged 60) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Vento ​ ​ (m. 1959; div. 1993)​
Children	Michael Vento, Peter Vento, John Vento
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Bruce Frank Vento (October 7, 1940 – October 10, 2000) was an American educator and politician, aDemocratic-Farmer-Labor member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, representingMinnesota's 4th congressional district.

Vento was born inSaint Paul, Minnesota, and was educated at theUniversity of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, where he received his BA in 1961. He later, in 1965, received a B.S with honors, from theUniversity of Wisconsin River Falls. He was a public school teacher inSt. Paul, Minnesota prior to entering politics.

Vento served in theMinnesota House of Representatives from 1971 until 1976 before entering the House. Vento is recognized for his efforts in cleaning the environment and promoting affordable housing. He is also widely known for theMcKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986, which provides federal money for shelter programs.

TheBruce Vento Regional Trail runs throughSt. Paul, Minnesota. Along this path, by the Johnson Parkway just north of Phalen Avenue, a memorial grove has also been named in his honor. TheBruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, a former railroad yard and informal trash dumping area in Lowertown St. Paul is also named for the Congressman, who lived nearby and supported this model reclamation project. East Consolidated Elementary School in St. Paul was renamed Bruce Vento Elementary School in 2000.^[1]

Vento introduced the first bill in theUS Congress to grant honorary U.S. citizenship to Laotian and Hmong veterans who served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in Laos during theVietnam War. The legislation, theHmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 was passed by the House and Senate following his death and signed into law by PresidentBill Clinton. Vento worked with theLao Veterans of America, the Lao Veterans of America Institute,the Center for Public Policy Analysis and others to research and advance the legislation in Congress, Washington, D.C., and the Lao- andHmong-American community. Vento worked with Hmong elders and community leaders in theTwin Cities and across the United States, includingCherzong Vang, ColonelWangyee Vang and others to build support for the legislation which took over 10 years to gain the bipartisan support for passage onCapitol Hill, Congress and theWhite House.

Vento died in 2000 while still a member of Congress frompleural mesothelioma, a rare form oflung cancer, as a result of exposure toasbestos. He had already announced that he would not run for a 13th term in 2000. Since he died a month before the election, no special election or new candidates were needed to replace him. State RepresentativeBetty McCollum, a fellow DFLer, succeeded him.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (2000–present)#2000s

• Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
• The Bruce VentoPapers, including extensive records of his congressional service, are available for research use at theMinnesota Historical Society.
• Bruce Vento Elementary School History
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1940 births
• 2000 deaths
• Catholics from Minnesota
• Deaths from cancer in Minnesota
• Deaths from mesothelioma in the United States
• American people of Italian descent
• Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
• University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni
• Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota
• University of Minnesota alumni
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature
• Hmong-American culture and history

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