Scott Fitzgerald: “I am here to speak on the $120 million Abraham Lincoln Library, for which there is authorization language in the…”

“I am here to speak on the $120 million Abraham Lincoln Library, for which there is authorization language in the Interior Subcommittee appropriations bill. Last night, the Senate passed separate legislation authorizing $50 million of Federal funds for the construction of the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield, IL. The library is intended to be built with a mixture of State and Federal funds. The total cost of the project would be about $120 million. The Senate, in adopting its authorizing language, attached an amendment, that I put on, that required this library, this monument for 'Honest Abe' Lincoln--that all the construction contracts on it be competitively bid in accordance with the Federal competitive bid guidelines. That language cleared the full Senate last night. The Senate went on record in favor of a requirement that this Abraham Lincoln $120 million library carry with it the requirements that all contracts be competitively bid in accordance with Federal procurement law, the purpose of which is to prevent political favoritism in the awarding of construction contracts and also to get the best value for the taxpayer.”