Eisenhower family wants new Ike memorial design

(AP) The family of President Dwight D. Eisenhower is supporting new legislation in Congress to scrap the design and block funding for a planned memorial honoring the former president and World War II hero in Washington.

The future of the memorial was up for debate Tuesday as lawmakers questioned the project's design by architect Frank Gehry and its estimated cost of $142 million. The 14-year-old project is nearing an expiration date for a site approved at the foot of Capitol Hill.

Gehry has proposed a memorial park for Eisenhower with statues framed by large, metal tapestries depicting a Kansas landscape from Ike's boyhood home.

Eisenhower's family has objected, calling it "too extravagant." On Tuesday, Susan Eisenhower, the president's granddaughter, said Congress should restart the process and redesign the planned memorial.