Highway Trust Fund Recovery Act of 2001

The Highway Trust Fund Recovery Act of 2001 (S. 1306) proposed a change to how federal tax revenue from alcohol-based fuels, such as ethanol, is allocated. Under the tax laws at the time, a portion of the excise taxes collected on these fuels was directed to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury rather than to transportation projects. This bill sought to redirect 100% of those tax revenues into the Highway Trust Fund.

For the average citizen, the practical impact of this legislation would have been an increase in available federal funding for the construction and maintenance of highways and public transit systems. By ensuring that all taxes paid on alcohol fuels were dedicated specifically to infrastructure, the bill aimed to provide more resources for road safety and improvements without raising taxes on consumers. Although the bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Finance, it did not advance further during that session of Congress.