WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2022) The US Senate must act urgently to pass a resolution to avert a nationwide rail strike after the House of Representative passed the measure, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.
"I am grateful to Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and House Democrats and Republicans for taking urgent action to prevent a rail shutdown," Biden said in a statement. "The Senate must move quickly and send a bill to my desk for my signature immediately."
Without Congress acting promptly this week, the railroads will begin to halt the movement of critical materials in the United States as soon as this weekend, Biden said.
The resolution compels a deal between rail workers and carriers to avoid a strike, which could start as early as December 9. The House passed the resolution earlier on Wednesday in a vote of 290-137.
The House also passed a concurrent resolution to ensure the deal to avoid a strike provides workers seven days of paid sick leave annually. US Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday he would block any measure to avoid the rail strike without a vote on guaranteeing paid sick leave.
On Monday, Biden called on Congress to act immediately to avert a nationwide rail strike, which could cost the US economy $2 billion per day, according to the Association of American Railroads.
