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February 6, 2006 4:30 PM, EST

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epartment of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta unveiled a $65.6 billion request that provides record investments for new highway, transit and safety programs, DOT said Monday.

The request is a slight increase from the current year’s $65.5 billion budget, Bloomberg reported.

DOT’s budget proposes $100 million for a pilot program to test the viability of alternatives to the gasoline fuel tax for financing highway construction and managing congestion, Mineta said in a statement.

That proposal would call for partnerships with up to five states to test fees, tolls and other approaches designed to examine new ways to raise revenue and at the same time ease traffic on congested roads.

The budget proposal would fully fund the highway law passed last year, known as SAFETEA-LU, at nearly $50 billion for transit, highways and safety programs, a $3.3 billion increase over 2006, DOT said.

The 8.5% in highway spending is the largest single line-item in the transportation budget, Bloomberg reported.

Mineta said that 25% of the budget request will be used to pay for safety initiatives, including $815 million for DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Proposed cuts include reducing subsidies to Amtrak and to some airport construction programs.