(Grain Valley, Mo., Nov. 2, 2009) – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission display no shame for their greedy and irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. They are trying again for a bailout by way of trying to convert Interstate 80 into a toll road. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) believes adding tolls to a federal public highway is double taxation and Act 44 should be repealed.

OOIDA, which represents about 158,000 small-business truckers, protests the proposal because it is essentially double taxation, is unsafe for other roads, and is not in the best interests of all highway users or businesses in Pennsylvania.

This is not the first time transportation officials have attempted to toll I-80 as part of the directives of Act 44. Previous applications have been rejected by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Both transportation organizations again seem eager to lock the citizens of Pennsylvania into a contract that will negatively affect their children and grandchildren,” said OOIDA’s Director of Legislative Affairs Mike Joyce. “Meanwhile, the state’s highway funding has disgracefully been squandered away on non-highway projects.”

OOIDA is part of a coalition called the “Americans for a Strong National Highway Network,” which includes other organizations opposed to tolling public highways.

Joyce said the Association is thankful to Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) for leading the charge as well as Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3rd District) and state representative Mario Scavello (R-Monroe County).

 “They understand that instead of getting a bailout, Pennsylvania should first fix the holes in their funding bucket before pouring in more money, as well as revisit Act 44 and its legality.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 158,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

###