In 1844, followers of William Miller, known as Millerites, were convinced by him that Jesus was due to return in October, specifically October 22, 1844. (There were earlier dates which were explained away as mistaken interpretations of the Biblical record.) With the return of Jesus so close, many of the Millerites gave away their possessions and left their fields to grow wild since they would soon have no need for earthly things such as food and shelter.
When Jesus didn't make his grand appearance on the announced date, the dejected Millerites were forced to deal with the consequences of their mass delusion. In addition to their new-found poverty, many were also publicly derided and some were subject to physical violence. This event became known as The Great Disappointment.
I believe there is a similar, but more insidious dynamic in play today. A fairly large percentage of the Republican base identifies itself as evangelical Christian. Meanwhile,
According to the 2010 study data, 58 percent of white Evangelical Christians believe that Christ will definitely or probably return to Earth by 2050;
And unlike 170 years ago when this movement was confined to a group of kooks on a farm in New England waiting to ascend into the clouds to meet Jesus, nowadays a significant number of those kooks are members of Congress. And the pushers of this belief system have learned the lesson from the Great Disappointment - don't be so specific! If they claimed He would return on December 25, 2016, then if the day came and went, it would lead to more disbelief and disappointment. Instead they continue to predict "soon" or "within our lifetimes."
So here's the thing, just like it made no sense to the Millerites to invest in the future by plowing their fields, it makes no sense to modern evangelical Republicans to invest in our infrastructure. Why waste money on high speed rail or green energy when our future is in God's hands and they're about to be Raptured anyway? This may not be stated GOP policy, but I can't help but believe that this mindset is very much at work in both the House and Senate.
I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done to shift this dynamic in the US. Just figured I'd post this as food for thought ...