The president of the United States, Joe Biden, with the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress, this Tuesday at the White House. JIM WATSON (AFP)
The
lame duck Congress
has homework.
This is how the chambers are called before dissolving for renewal with the legislators who came out of the polls on November 8.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, met this Tuesday with the Democratic and Republican parliamentary leaders to discuss their priorities in the remaining weeks of his term.
The first of these is to pass a law to prevent a railway strike from collapsing the country on Christmas Eve.
Congressional leaders are willing to do so.
Biden has received at the White House the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer and the Republican leaders of both chambers, Kevin McCarthy (probable replacement for Pelosi in the new Congress) and Mitch McConnell .
“There is a lot to do, including the resolution of the train strike,” Biden said before starting the meeting.
“Congress has to act to prevent it.
It's not an easy decision, but I think we have to.
The economy is at risk ”, he said.
At the end of the meeting, spokesmen for the two parties have declared that they are willing to act to avoid a strike on some key dates.
Pelosi has indicated that she is willing to present a legal text this Wednesday.
The idea is to approve by law the principle of agreement that Biden reached with the representatives of the workers in the sector in September, and which contemplated a 24% wage increase, but which was later rejected by 4 of the 12 unions involved.
"The four [leaders of Congress] have agreed that we have to resolve this railway closure as soon as possible and that we would work together to do it," Schumer summed up after the meeting.
“I don't like to go against the power of the unions to go on strike, but weighing things up, we must avoid going on strike.
Jobs will be lost.
Even union jobs will be lost,” Pelosi said.
"We are going to have to pass a bill," admitted Republican McConnell.
Biden had already made a public appeal to Congress this Monday before today's meeting.
“Let me be clear: a rail closure would devastate our economy.
Without freight rail, many American industries would shut down," he said in a statement adding: "As a president who is proud to be pro-labor, I am reluctant to quash ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement.
But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of workers and families — I think Congress should use its powers to pass this deal."
In addition to the law to avoid a strike that, according to Biden, would have “devastating” effects for the economy, the president has also raised other issues with congressional leaders to address in the last weeks of this legislature.
The Democrats now have a majority in the House of Representatives and in the Senate there is a tie at 50 that the vice president, Kamala Harris, undoes.
However, when the new Congress is constituted in January, the Republicans will take control of the Lower House, thereby making Biden's agenda difficult.
outstretched hand
Biden has indicated to those attending the meeting as priorities for these last weeks that Congress approve financing in matters such as the fight against the covid and military and economic aid to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, according to White House sources.
The president's intention would have been to obtain an approval of the debt ceiling that would avoid having to negotiate it with the Republicans next year (with the risk of closing federal offices that may entail), but for now he does not see it as feasible to attract even the vote of its most wayward senator, Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
In any case, Biden has tried to reach out to the Republicans to work together in the future.
"The president told his Republican colleagues that, regardless of the disagreements they may have, he is always interested in finding new points of contact, and that he has the door open to hear his perspectives on the matter," they point out from the House. White.
The climate of political polarization will not make this collaboration easy.
The Republicans are thinking more about reinforcing the scrutiny of the Joe Biden government, with investigations of his charges and audits of spending on different programs.
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