9-foot-tall Reagan statue unveiled at National Airport

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The Reagan Presidential Foundation on Tuesday unveiled a 9-foot-statue of the former president at the Washington, D.C. airport bearing his name.

The $900,000 cost of the 900-pound statue was covered by private donations, as were the cost of statues that are being unveiled in Simi Valley, California; Budapest; and London.

Democratic President Bill Clinton signed legislation in 1998 renaming Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the Republican-controlled Congress pushed the bill through. Critics complained at the time that Reagan was already slated to have an International Trade Center on Pennsylvania Avenue and Nimitz-class aircraft carrier named after him.

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-VA) called the move by Republicans an “arrogant abuse of power” because the airport was already named after another president: George Washington.

Former Sens. Bob and Elizabeth Dole attended the unveiling along with current Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Watch this video from The Associated Press, broadcast Nov. 1, 2011.