Buried in the omnibus budget bill Congress negotiated late into the night Sunday was a win for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial planned near the National Mall: $45 million in funding, the essential go-ahead to start work at the site.
The budget line meets the request from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which told the House and Senate appropriations committees in February 2016 that it needed $43 million to start construction in fiscal 2017 and $1.8 million for commission operations.
The commission estimates it needs about $84 million in federal funding to complete construction on the memorial for the 34th president. The commission will request the additional $41 million in fiscal 2018, according to its fiscal 2017 budget justification.
The omnibus funding bill, which is expected to go to a vote Wednesday, also extends the commission’s right to build on the 4-acre site at Independence Avenue and Sixth Street SW for an additional two years. The language also directs the commission…Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
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