thirty-seven studies done between 1926 and 1938 showed the need for a better airport. however, due to a law that did not allow the federal government to build airports, it could not be considered or planned for. on top of this, congress refused to even attempt to make plans for a new airport. president franklin d. roosevelt, knowing this information, grew tired of waiting on congress, and moved forward with attempting to create the new airport, which he could do on the technicality that he was allowed to spend money when congress was not in session. he used that power to spend $15 million to construct a new airport that better served the nation's capital, and construction on washington national airport broke ground in 1938. congress did not think that what fdr did was legal, but did not stop the construction from being built.