Congressman Thompson Calls for PennDOT Secretary’s Resignation

BELLEFONTE, Pa. – U.S. Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson today called on Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Yassmin Gramian to resign after published reports indicate the agency spent more than $14 million in taxpayer funding in pursuit of a haphazard plan to toll nine bridges in the Commonwealth.

The Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3) Initiative was struck down by the Commonwealth Court, which ruled that PennDOT violated the law and skirted obligations to transparency and public engagement.

"For more than a year, I have voiced my concerns to PennDOT Secretary Gramian that the agency was putting forth an untenable tolling proposal. Along the way, she made it clear through her actions that public engagement was merely an afterthought. This was apparent when she refused to take questions from federal and state legislators at a field hearing last spring in Clarion. Under Secretary Gramian, PennDOT has wasted millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through her quest to impose a new tax upon Pennsylvanians and the traveling public," Rep. Thompson said. "She has violated both the law and the public's trust — Secretary Gramian should resign, effective immediately."

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