Roosevelt & Reagan liked the WPA, so why don't we?

(FDR image courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Reagan image courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library)

In his autobiography--"Ronald Reagan: An American Life"--Reagan wrote: "The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges, and other projects...it gave men and women a chance to make some money along with the satisfaction of knowing they earned it."

In the "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43," FDR wrote: "(The WPA) has added to the national wealth, has repaired the wastage of depression and has strengthened country to bear the burden of war."

Question: If one of the main Democrat/Progressive heroes (FDR) liked the WPA, and one of the main Republican/Conservative heroes (Reagan) liked the WPA, then why don't we have a new WPA to address our persistently high unemployment rates? (There is/was a "21st Century WPA Act," but it appears to have either died in committee, or has been collecting dust for the past year. See: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.1517.IS:)