[chiller]

You probably know better than most of us, kabar:

Since much of this infrastructure money won’t be spent for years, what chance is there that a future congress could slow or kill it.

I’ll concede some infrastructure spending may be warranted, but that’s about 1/10th of the cost of this bill...the bulk being more liberal pipe dreams.

[kabar]

If the money is put into no-year accounts, there will be a huge slush fund. Congress could try to limit expenditures thru new legislation, but I don't see that happening. Federal funds are allocated three ways:

Discretionary budget authority generally is designated as:

Annual authority, which expires at the end of the first year in which an appropriation is made available (unless explicitly stated otherwise, funds provided in appropriation acts are available for one year only);

Multiyear authority, which expires at the end of a designated period of more than one year; or

“No-year” authority, which does not expire but remains available until the funds are expended. Much of the Pentagon funding is done this way.

The Dems are trying to disguise the costs by instituting programs with sunset provisions, but they are banking on the programs becoming so popular and ingrained that it will be politically difficult to eliminate them. Obamacare is an example thanks to McCain.