President Obama's $50 billion infrastructure initiative ignited hopes that federal spending would heat up just as stimulus funding was cooling down. But political realities surrounding the deficit doused the optimism. Those same realities also make the $100 billion offered March 12 as part of Senate Democrats' fiscal 2014 budget proposal more pipe dream than potential pipe-laying reality. The White House doesn't explain how its plan would be funded. "Even without sequestration, it's difficult to imagine any appetite to direct new spending as many view [Obama's] proposal as another round of stimulus spending," says Building America's Future Policy Director Kerry O'Hare. "Without an identified 'pay for,' it's not considered a serious proposal."
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