John Stroup for Congress

For Immediate Release
March 18, 2008

Stroup Shocked by Candidates’ Opinions

John Stroup, candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District, Mayor of Clarion, PA, and outspoken advocate for preserving free access to Interstate 80, reacted with shock to the opinions published today by other Congressional candidates concerning the toll issue.

“After all the months of effort we have put in, trying to educate the public about tolling Interstate 80 and what it would mean to the future of Pennsylvania, I am dismayed to find that even those running for public office are not always well informed,” Stroup said.

“I need to stress that this is not, as some apparently believe, a ‘dead issue.’ In fact, the Federal Highway Administration did not ‘reject’ Pennsylvania’s application to toll; they returned it as insufficient and invited a resubmission. This is the single most critical issue facing the future of our District’s economy and our next Congressman cannot be anything less than one hundred percent committed to opposition.”

Stroup was reacting to published interviews of the twelve candidates for John Peterson’s Congressional seat. Congressman Peterson has announced his intention to retire at the end of his current term.

“I feel, too, that I should defend against inaccuracies in the presentation of Congressman Peterson's position. I know first-hand that he did not, as he is accused of doing, threaten to cut all federal funding to Pennsylvania if the state imposed tolls. His legislation, which passed the House and was killed by the Senate, simply required that no federal money be used to impose tolls – something far different than one of the candidates indicated in his statement.”

“I personally believe that many people in state government, including the Governor, are still fully committed to the idea of tolls. This represents economic devastation for our Fifth Congressional District and a huge competitive disadvantage for the state as a whole.”

“Tolling will not stand. As Congressman, I will fight tolls on Interstate 80 until the whole notion is buried forever.”

Contact:
Brian Sowa
814-316-6761