We're trying to provide enough space to accommodate the needs of tourists for the next century. It's so expensive because we're building it underground to preserve the view of the Capitol. Most lawmakers, though, are barely aware of the project. I'm going to look into it. Maybe we should cancel the whole thing.
Cancellation seems unlikely.
But the architect's staff is continually revising plans for the project as concerns arise. Of the 67 trees scheduled for removal, only five are so-called Memorial trees that bear special significance to lawmakers or organizations. Almost perfectly shaped, the elm's broad limbs are frequently used to frame the Capitol Dome as a backdrop for news conferences held on the Senate lawn. Rebecca Wilson of the Caritas Society, a charitable organization associated with St. John's College that obtained the seedlings for three Liberty offspring planted at the time of the Bicentennial, said she hopes the design for the visitors center might be further altered so that the one on the Capitol grounds can remain where it is. A transplant will be difficult because the root structure is as large as the 40 feet or so of tree that appears above ground, according to Gary Coleman, a University of Maryland professor who specializes in the biotechnology of trees.