The proposed Eisenhower Memorial, as designed by Frank Gehry.

The controversial Frank Gehry-designed Eisenhower Memorial has been on hold since last year, and now a member of Congress wants to kill it altogether, reports Architect:

On Wednesday, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) introduced the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Completion Act, a bill that would amend the 2000 Department of Defense Appropriations Act that provides the statutory authority for the Eisenhower Memorial. The purpose of the new legislation is to “facilitate the completion of an appropriate national memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower.” It would do so, specifically, by mandating an alternative to Gehry’s memorial design.

Members of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission are none-too-happy with Bishop’s bill, while opponents hint that it’s the death knell of Gehry’s proposed design.

“The current design for the Eisenhower Memorial is no longer just stalled in the approvals process; its funding and support in Congress have now been called into question. That is because the current proposal is too controversial to be built. Next week’s hearing provides the opportunity to explore redesigning it through a public competition, as opposed to the closed, exclusive process that produced the current design,” said Sam Roche, spokesman for the Right by Ike coalition, which opposes Gehry’s design.

Gehry’s proposal has been a point of contention since he unveiled it. Members of Eisenhower’s family have said that the 80-foot-tall metal tapestries that will frame the memorial in front of the Department of Education are too much; a recent technical report said that they wouldn’t stand up well to the elements.

Their complaints have caught the ear of various members of Congress and outgoing U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who reviewed plans for the memorial last year. Neither the National Capital Planning Commission nor the Commission of Fine Arts have yet moved to review Gehry’s design, a step that’s required before any construction can begin. (Correction: The Commission on Fine Arts gave the memorial preliminary approval in September 2011.)

In related news, both the House and Senate have zeroed out funding for the memorial’s construction through at least September. The memorial is expected to cost $142 million, most of it paid by private contributions.