The Capitol’s "Money Pit"?

It’s Five Acres Of Marble And Bronze For Capitol Visitors — On The Taxpayers’ Dime

(CBS)  Visitors to the U.S. Capitol building will soon be able to wait for tours indoors in the comfort of the new Visitors Center.

Fifty feet below ground, it'll be elegant and spectacular: five acres of marble, bronze and mahogany.

But to some, it's just a “Money Pit,” like the old movie where a couple is perpetually promised their home repairs will take "two more weeks," CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports for Follow the Money.

But Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., says the congressional “Money Pit” is even further overdue.

“[It was] ’05, then ’06 then ’07,” Kingston said. “Now, we’re hearing ’08. So the ‘two more weeks’ has now turned into four years.”

CBS News wasn't allowed a sneak peek for this report, but since we last checked in, it's only gone further over budget.

Starting at $261 million, the cost has now ballooned to more than $620 million. And your tax dollars are paying for it.

Kingston headed a congressional committee that tried to keep tabs on what he calls "The Monster." He says Congress conveniently spread out responsibilities so no single person could be credited - or blamed.

“I was very unwelcomed and my questions were not embraced at all,” Kingston said. “And I thought, ‘I’m a fiscal Republican, fiscal conservative. We’ll go in there and we’ll find out where the head of the snake is.’ Well, No. 1, we couldn’t really find it. Number two, a lot of the resistance that we got were from members of the Republican Party.”

Kingston says the culprit is Congress' never-ending wish list. They already have three congressional TV studios, but added more in the new Visitor's Center. Complete with makeup rooms.

They added a huge congressional chamber (That’s 450 seats for $20 million), stapped up more room for Congressional offices (85,000 sq. feet at $88 million) and dug an expensive tunnel ($10 million) to connect the Capitol to the Library of Congress.

The Capitol is just a few steps from the Library of Congress, and folks have been walking here above ground just fine for a hundred years. So, Kingston tried to eliminate the tunnel, but others added it back.

Congress did find one cut they were willing to make - they dissolved Kingston’s committee - the one trying to slash costs.

The Visitors Center is now set to open next November. Come by and grab a burger at the cafeteria - it'll be the biggest cafeteria in Washington.

“And it’s going to be government-run, so you can see the Post Office efficiency that’s gonna be driving it when you order your hamburger," Kingston said. "You’ll get it two weeks later.”

After four extra years, two weeks might not seem so long.

[caldwellptr]

By comparsion - the 9/11 WTC memorial is to cost $500 million and is being funded by donations. The cost had been projected at $1 billion but was trimmed to stay in budget.

[kiskis1]

Sunday is the day targeted by GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul''s supporters for another fundraising push.



So, I''ll be sending my money in on Sunday for the simple reason Ron Paul is an honest man among charlatans and power seekers. And he gives me hope when it is in short supply.

It is also fun to think of what a Paul administration would do if the establishment allowed him to get that far.

Hope, truth and justice are in short supply in what is now the United States. When they are offered, they should be grabbed and protected like the rare treasures they have become. Ron Paul offers those things.

Certainly it is another David and Goliath struggle, and the Davids have rarely won since the original face-off. But, that is why we have hope.