The panel met Thursday to review priorities and challenges for the upcoming reauthorization of federal public-transportation programs -- the panel's first hearing on mass transit during the 112th Congress. The banking committee is responsible for authorizing the transit portion of the federal surface transportation program.

"This effort will build on the substantial hearing record on public transportation and transit safety that our previous chair, Sen. [Chris] Dodd, [D-Connecticut], and our ranking member, Sen. [Richard] Shelby, [R-Alabama], worked to establish last Congress," Johnson said in prepared opening remarks. "It's time to get to work on this legislation. Getting a long-term bill done will not be easy, but I hope that improving transportation is a topic where both parties can find common ground."

He noted it's an important time to talk about public transportation.

"High gas prices are stretching families' budgets across the nation, and where there is good transit service, taking a bus or train to work can make a big difference," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, few Americans have that option."

The chairman stressed the importance of having transit options available, even for Americans who live outside big cities.

"It is sometimes forgotten, but reliable and accessible public transit is vital in rural areas like South Dakota, just as it is vital in large urban cities," he said. "Our public-transit systems connect workers with employers, keep cars off congested roads, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and get people where they're going safely and affordably."

Five witnesses appeared before the committee: Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff; William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association; Dale Marsico, executive director of the Community Transportation Association of America; Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union; and JayEtta Hecker, director of transportation advocacy for the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Rogoff spoke about the Obama administration's policy priorities for the reauthorization of federal transit programs. He described the administration's goals that the nation strategically rebuild and expand its transit infrastructure in ways that will create new jobs, enhance competitiveness, and spur economic growth in communities nationwide while also reducing America's dependence on oil.

"We can't keep proposing policy changes when gas prices rise, only to forget about them once they go back down," Rogoff said. "We are making historic investments in high-speed rail and public transit, because part of making our transportation sector cleaner and more efficient involves offering Americans -- urban, suburban, and rural -- the choice to be mobile without having to get in a car and pay for gas."

Millar testified that enacting a well-funded, six-year, multimodal surface transportation bill is one of the most important actions Congress can take to repair the country's economy and prepare for future growth.

"Investment in the nation's transportation infrastructure will create jobs building facilities that our nation will use for decades as we compete in a global economy," he said in prepared testimony. "Conversely, further delay in passing an authorization bill will have the opposite effect, allowing our public-transportation systems, roads, bridges, and rail to deteriorate -- decreasing their effectiveness while forcing citizens and private-sector businesses to be saddled with higher transportation costs. It will cause public-transportation-related companies to lay off employees, reduce investments in this country, and some to invest overseas instead."

Hecker told senators that the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Transportation Policy Project is finalizing a comprehensive new report that will provide specific recommendations for restructuring the current federal surface transportation programs to both focus on advancing clear national priorities and do so within the level of revenue collected by the Highway Trust Fund.

She highlighted three key points:

1. The current environment for reauthorization presents significant challenges and opportunities;
   
   
2. NTPP priorities for reauthorization include promoting performance, improving planning, and developing an integrated, multimodal focus on optimizing transportation networks; and
   
   
3. Funding challenges are profound and require immediate incentives for increases in nonfederal revenue, and re-establishing the credibility of the federal program to gain support for increased federal revenues.

All witness statements and an archived webcast of Thursday's hearing are available at 1.usa.gov/SBHUAC051911.