Gallego, Colleagues Demand Answers on Failed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Rehabilitation Project

Gallego, colleagues: “Taxpayers deserve a full explanation of how these failures occurred and who will be held accountable for correcting them” WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) , a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, joined his Democratic colleagues on the Committee in demanding answers from Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum regarding the Department’s rushed rehabilitation project of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In the letter , Senator Gallego and his colleagues note that the issues facing the reflecting pool are not simply maintenance concerns, but failures in project execution and government oversight. Following the award of a no-bid contract and a drastic increase in project costs — from an initial cost estimate of $1.8 million to reportedly $14 million — the administration assured the public that the rehabilitation project would restore one of the nation’s most visible landmarks. Instead, days after the reflecting pool was refilled, large algae blooms turned the water green , and sections of the newly applied blue coating separated from the bottom and surfaced to the top of the pool , despite the project having been completed only days earlier. “The American people deserve to know why the rehabilitation project has failed and the corrective actions the Department is taking to address this ongoing issue,” the senators wrote . “Perhaps, most troubling, is that the reflecting pool now will have to be drained again for additional repairs only weeks after its completion,” the senators continued . “If a project this costly and of this magnitude cannot remain functional for an entire month after its completion, serious questions must be raised regarding the planning, execution, inspection process, and the Department’s acceptance of the completed work.” “Taxpayers deserve a full explanation of how these failures occurred and who will be held accountable for correcting them,” the senators added . The lawmakers concluding the letter by requesting information on why costs rose from $1.8 million to more than $14 million, what funds were used for the project, who will pay for future repairs, the Department’s justification for awarding a no-bid contract, whether the contractor will be held accountable for the defects and failures, and what investigations have been conducted into the coating failures and algae bloom. The letter is led by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and signed by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Read the full letter HERE .