Obama initiatives unlikely to pass Congress by election

The $50 billion for new infrastructure projects proposed by President Obama is unlikely to pass Congress before November's election, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). 

"We'll be looking at it," he told reporters. "[But] I think it will be very difficult to get a very broad agenda through."

Over the Labor Day weekend, Obama proposed a $50 billion spending package that would repair the nation's rail and roadways. The proposal comes as a new Rasmussen poll finds 55 percent of likely voters said they oppose the government spending more money.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs admitted the proposal passing Congress before the election was a long shot, but passage could come later. 

"Congress doesn't stop thinking about what it's going to do after November," he told reporters. "The president is putting on the table a series of what he believes are important economic ideas."  

Obama on Wednesday is also expected to propose a modified research and development tax credit and allowing companies to write off certain capital purchases. Both provisions are to help prop up the economy and unlikely to pass Congress before the election.

"The president isn't here to solve the nation's problems on a political calendar," Gibbs said. "He is here to solve the nation's problems as they exist. That's what he is elected to do, and that's what he'll focus his time on doing."