Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified before the Senate Budget Committee on the President’s $74 billion budget request for his department in 2013. This amounts to a 2% increase over the 2012 request.

At the top of the hearing, committee members expressed their concern for LaHood's son, Sam, who, along with the 18 other Americans, is currently being held in Egypt for his work with a nongovernmental organization. Committee chairman Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) also condemned the Egyptian government for its handling of the situation.

Sec. LaHood faced some resistance from Republican Senators over the administration's six-year, $476 billion transportation infrastructure proposal included in the request. The Senate is currently working on its own two-year, $109 billion bill.

In the U.S. House, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) broke up a transportation bill into three separate bills after hearing objections from his fellow Republicans. The House $260 billion dollar package authorizes transportation and some energy projects for five years.