As Washington considers a nearly $1 trillion economic stimulus bill to combat an increasing recession, with billions going to public works projects, governments worldwide will, at the same time, spend as much as $1.5 trillion annually for the next 20 years to make up for a lack of similar spending on infrastructure in years past.

Most public transit systems throughout the country, even in cities that approved funding increases during the last election, are facing substantial budget shortfalls.

Like so many other transit agencies around the country, the nation’s largest transit authority - New York City - is in the midst of a severe budget crisis and is facing a $1.2 billion deficit.

In order to have an impact on the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. Still, as the bill goes through Congress, little has been done to ensure that proper oversight will be applied to the funds devoted to spending.

America lost 524,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate, at the same time, is at a 16-year-high of 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. There are currently 11.1 million unemployed throughout the country, which is nearly double the number out of work at the start of the economic recession a year ago. President Barack Obama has promised to sustain Americans in these hard times with an $825 billion economic stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009.

Transit funding has taken a big hit in the House version of the stimulus bill, and yesterday some bloggers were speculating that it was because House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D., MN) had rolled over and allowed the money to go to tax cuts instead. But, the situation may not be as bad as it looks –- yet.

Following his election last November, then President-elect Barack Obama continually advocated for federal spending on infrastructure projects to stimulate the depressed economy and, at the same time, to not just rebuild America’s failing infrastructure but to also establish a Twenty-First Century country.

Congressional officials have released a draft of the $825 billion federal stimulus package, a combination of spending and tax cuts. Some of spending components include $87 billion for a temporary increase in aid to states for Medicaid costs; and $79 billion in aid to local school districts and public colleges to prevent cutbacks.

Blueprint America -- with host David Brancaccio (NOW on PBS) -- interviews economist Paul Krugman on the effect a stimulus in infrastructure spending will have on the American economy.

U.S. mayors on December 9, 2008, called on President-elect Obama to channel infrastructure spending directly to cities rather than state governments. Consequently, there could be a problem with how infrastructure projects receive funding once the next stimulus bill is passed. However, there may be some lessons to be learned from how the New Deal was managed.

As unemployment continues to increase, President-elect Obama further outlines his stimulus plan for the country, including infrastructure and green energy projects.