Although legislators have praised the scope of President Obama's six-year, $556 billion transportation proposal and its inclusion of high-speed rail and transit funding, questions continue to swirl about how the non-highway initiatives will be funded.

At a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee yesterday, legislators raised concerns about the Transportation Trust Fund, a proposal in the administration's fiscal 2012 budget request that would replace the existing Highway Trust Fund with four separate pools for highway, rail and transit projects and a National Infrastructure Bank.

"Having separate accounts could be a good idea, but I don't see any funding mechanism," said ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). "I believe in rail, but I think we've got to see some kind of a mechanism to fund this ... that has an association with who is getting the service."

Despite proposing to increase transportation spending by $270 billion over the previous six-year bill, the administration's budget did not specify a funding source. The Highway Trust Fund is currently fed by the federal gas tax but that fee is insufficient and the president has promised not to raise it during difficult economic times.

Testifying at the hearing, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former congressman, promised to work with both chambers to specify a suitable funding source.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who said he worries that the transit and rail focus would leave rural areas in the dust, blasted the proposal as "less a budget and more a transportation wish list."

LaHood faced similar funding questions at a Senate Budget Committee hearing last week (E&E Daily, March 3). He is set to meet with the Environment and Public Works Committee, the other Senate panel working on a transportation bill, this afternoon and will likely have to answer similar concerns.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), however, praised the administration's "bold vision" for its focus on public transportation and high-speed rail as a way to reduce congestion on highways and at airports as well as green the sector. He said that type of investment was important, particularly given the proposed cuts to Amtrak and transit programs in House Republicans' budget plan.

"House Republicans say we can't afford these investments right now," Lautenberg said, the chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee. "That's a short-sighted view, in my opinion. ... We have an opportunity to fix our broken-down infrastructure and get millions of workers back on the job. We also have a duty to the next generation of Americans who are counting on us to make these investments."

Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) questioned the future of the recreational trails program as LaHood highlighted the department's plan to consolidate duplicate programs, but the secretary assured her it would stay funded.