Panel to look at National Mall upgrade

America’s frontyard may get its first face lift in more than three decades. Today, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider approving as much as $100 million in matching funds for repairs, maintenance and new staff for the National Mall, an area that attracts 25 million visitors a year.

“The problem is, the Mall is just loved to death,” said Chip Akridge, 61, chairman of the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit group that raises money for the park.

The 700-acre National Mall extends from the U.S. Capitol to the Potomac River and is home to the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and more than a dozen other memorials and museums.