House gives final OK to WW II memorial

By From Ted Barrett
CNN Capitol Hill producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House has given final approval to a bill to expedite the construction of a memorial to veterans of World War II, despite complaints that the design is gaudy and too large to sit between the Lincoln and Washington monuments on the Mall.

An artist's rendition of the proposed World War II memorial.

The measure, which was approved on a voice vote, passed the Senate on Monday night and will be sent to President Bush for his signature.

The bill effectively ends a legal dispute over the memorial's design and puts curbs on the authority of three oversight commissions to delay construction any further.

Proponents say the memorial, which was commissioned by Congress in 1993, needs to be built expeditiously because more than a thousand veterans of the war die every day.

One opponent, World War II veteran George Idelson, accused Congress of "cheap patriotism," saying it rammed the measure through as a political statement. He also criticized the design.

"If you compare it to the poignancy of the Vietnam Memorial, that's enough to make people cry when they go there. This is going to make them laugh. It's just big and bold and triumphal, and it's just kind of 'in your face,'"he told CNN.