Jack Kingston: “Mr. Speaker, I wanted to bring up what the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) had mentioned too on the Capitol…”

“Mr. Speaker, I wanted to bring up what the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) had mentioned too on the Capitol visitors center. This committee, on a bipartisan basis, has taken a real close look at the Capitol visitors center. It is perhaps one of the largest construction projects we have had on this campus since the actual construction of the Capitol, and I do not know if it approximately will double our size, but it is big. This project started out at $265 million, and right now it is at $456 million and perhaps on its way up from there. Congress did add some additional office space, and there were some considerations for security that caused the $265 million to go to about $365 million or $370 million range, but the rest is just kind of work-in-progress add-ons. We need to be very careful that this does not become the poster child for congressional disaster spending. One of the things that we have taken a real close look at, and I am glad that the House and Members of the majority and the members of the committee recommended changing the way the Architect of the Capitol makes decisions.”