U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke Thursday morning to the Senate Transportation, Housing & Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari spoke Thursday afternoon to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. The two used similar prepared remarks, which are available at tinyurl.com/LaHood030410.

"The president's request totals $79 billion, a nearly $2 billion increase over FY 2010 levels," LaHood said. "These resources will support the president's top transportation priorities: improving transportation safety, investing for the future, and promoting livable communities."

LaHood and Porcari's testimony covered the areas of highway safety, Next Generation air traffic control technology, high speed rail, transit safety, investing in transportation infrastructure, livability, and implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Senate CST Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, told Porcari that Congress and the Obama administration "need to continue to push for a long-term extension [of surface transportation authorization] so that we have the time to develop a robust reauthorization bill that anticipates our nation's future needs while also avoiding another disastrous interruption of the DOT's crucial safety mission and ability to provide critical dollars to support state highway projects and good-paying jobs."

Rockefeller also stressed there must be an increase in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's funding to hire more vehicle safety engineers to investigate vehicle defects.

"I know the administration has proposed a slight increase for more personnel, but that proposal is simply not enough to address the problems that this committee has uncovered with vehicle safety," he said.

Video of Thursday's appropriations subcommittee hearing is available at tinyurl.com/STHUDRAAS030410. Video of Thursday's commerce committee hearing is available at tinyurl.com/SCSTC030410.