S811-119

2. Findings Congress finds that— the recreational trails program under section 206 of title 23, United States Code— funds development and maintenance of valuable trail infrastructure across the United States; benefits millions of diverse trail users, including users who participate in hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, 4-wheel off-highway vehicle driving, and other off-road motorized vehicle use; embraces the user-pay-user-benefit model of the Highway Trust Fund; is funded by a Federal tax on fuel used for nonhighway recreation; is funded on an annual basis of approximately $84,000,000; and does not receive the amounts collected from the average annual fuel tax, $281,000,000, that are paid into the Highway Trust Fund by nonhighway recreation vehicles; contributes significantly to national transportation, economic development, health, public land access and enjoyment, and other national priorities; and should be funded at a level commensurate with tax contributions from nonhighway vehicle recreation; to ensure that Federal taxes collected from nonhighway recreation are appropriately returned to the States for the recreational trails program described in paragraph (1), an accurate estimate of the total amount of nonhighway fuel taxes collected— is necessary; and should be provided to Congress by the Federal Highway Administration at least 1 year before the date on which funding for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs is anticipated to expire; and the recreational trails program under section 206 of title 23, United States Code, should be carried out through funding made available under section 133(h) of that title (commonly known as the Transportation Alternatives program) without affecting other Federal highway programs.