A Capitol loss for D.C. visitors

WASHINGTON -- Congress oversees the nation's more than $2 trillion budget, the spending of all federal agencies, and the funding of everything from weapons systems to bridges and buildings.

Yet a project literally on Congress' doorstep -- seen every day by House and Senate members -- is nine months behind schedule and expected to be $250 million over budget.

The project -- the high-security, high-tech Capitol Visitor Center -- has become a financial embarrassment for members of Congress and an eyesore for the visitors who flock to the Capitol grounds each day.

The idea is to give tourists a comfortable place to gather while providing members of Congress with better security. But the grounds over the underground center are covered with granite slabs, while the center itself remains a dark chamber, its interior only slowly taking form.

''This is literally right under Congress' nose," said Steve Ellis, vice president for programs for Taxpayers for Common Sense. ''They practically trip over it, but they are not willing to manage it appropriately and cut costs."

Tom Fontana, a spokesman for the office of the architect of the Capitol, which is overseeing the project, said rising costs are often part of a complicated project.

''Not to say some mistakes have [not] been made, but unforeseen conditions came up," Fontana said. ''After 9/11, we have incorporated 23 design changes for security elements. There's a ripple effect with design changes when walls have to be removed."

The visitor center, now scheduled to open in September 2006, was planned before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and lawmakers have since altered the design.

''Much of this is due to changes requested by Congress and security concerns," said Jim Specht, spokesman for Representative Jerry Lewis, a California Republican and chairman of the committee overseeing the center.

Others say that does not justify the extent of the problems, and they cite mismanagement, whether by Congress or the architect of the Capitol, who works directly for lawmakers.

When he was chairman of the subcommittee overseeing the project last year, Representative Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican, was a critic of the center because ''it's turned into a black hole of taxpayer dollars," said Jennifer Hing, Kingston's press secretary. ''In Kingston's view, the current overage . . . was a result of poor management" by the architect of the Capitol.

About $265 million was originally allotted for construction of the visitor center, and work began in October 2001.

Because of design changes related to security concerns, the budget jumped to $406 million. The budget has since reached $420 million. But that figure is likely to increase, according to those involved, placing the total cost at $515 million, almost twice the original estimate.

Also, an additional $36.9 million has been requested in the 2006 budget at the recommendation of the Government Accountability Office, which told Congress in November that current budget projections are inadequate and the center may not open by its target date of September 2006.

Among complications, one congressional committee transferred oversight of the center to another in the middle of the project. And Fontana, of the architect's office, said the delays and budget increases have to be considered in the context of the project's elaborate nature and the history of the Capitol.

Fontana noted that the project is about 580,000 square feet, three-quarters the size of the Capitol, and covers 5 acres underground. Construction is also timed with lawmakers' schedules, so that if a high-level congressional meeting is held, construction is sometimes stopped or scaled back.

To ensure security, construction trucks are screened before entering and leaving the site and crews are bused from nearby parking lots.

But such explanations do not mollify critics, including Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, who calls the center ''a monument to congressional narcissism."

Once the project is completed it will change the way visitors experience the Capitol. Representative Rep. Jim Moran, a Virginia Democrat, said it will be ''something of a virtual experience."