Congress must give greater financial capabilities to local and regional planning authorities in transportation matters, Dr. Ronald Kirby, director of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, testified Wednesday before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Kirby testified on behalf of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations during a hearing to review critical issues surrounding the reauthorization of TEA 21, which funds highway, highway safety transit and other surface transportation programs nationwide. "We need to retain controls over the planning process, increase the resources for plans and projects, and venture into new areas to improve our metropolitan transportation sytems," Kirby said. Under the law, regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are responsible for establishing the cooperative, continuous and comprehensive framework for making transportation investment decisions. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board is the MPO responsible for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region.