Senate Votes for Visitors Center at Wall
July 19, 2003
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to allow construction of a visitors center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a proposal that has been pushed in Congress for three years and was narrowly defeated last year.
The bill, which passed the Senate last year but then failed in the House, would allow the center to be built near the memorial's engraved wall. Last year's version included language that would have prevented construction of future memorials or commemorations on the Mall, a prohibition some lawmakers said they did not support. The new bill would not prohibit future Mall projects.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which would be responsible for raising money for the center, says the project would cost about $10 million and take three years to finish. The group has lobbied to have the center be built underground near the memorial, a proposal that critics have said would clutter the Mall and lead to similar centers for the World War II and Korean War memorials.
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