By Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin, Frank Thorp V and Rebecca Shabad -
NBC News
The Senate approved a bill on Thursday to prevent a rail strike that would have been catastrophic for the US economy, just one day after the House of Representatives approved the measure.
The bill now goes to President Joe Biden, who had pleaded with Congress to act quickly, warning of major damage to supply chains that could disrupt the supply of clean water and the movement of gasoline in an already fragile economy. .
Biden is expected to sign the bill.
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The agreement, which required 60 votes, passed 80 to 15, with one senator present voting.
The chamber held three successive votes, each requiring 60 votes for approval.
A worker walks along rail tracks in a BNSF railroad yard, in Kansas City, Kansas, on Sept. 14, 2022. Charlie Riedel/AP
The Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to extend the “cooling-off period” that gives relevant parties an additional 60 days beyond the Dec. 8 deadline to continue negotiating an inter-union agreement. and railway operators.
The upper house also rejected an amendment championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and some Democrats to add seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers to the agreement.
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The Senate voted to impose the deal brokered by the Biden administration in September, passing legislation that had already been given the green light in the House of Representatives.
While the deal was brokered by the White House and defended as a compromise, it was rejected by some of the unions.
In a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Biden defended the deal despite the lack of coverage of paid leave that some Democrats demanded, blaming Republicans for voting against it.
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The president said he will continue to fight for paid time off after Congress passes the deal and a rail strike is averted.
“I think we will get it done, but not within this deal,” he said.
“We're going to prevent the rail strike and keep the rails running, keep things moving, and we're going to come back and get paid leave not just for rail workers, but for all rail workers,” he said.