(FreedomBeacon.com)- Last week, the House and Senate both approved legislation to avoid a national railroad strike by forcing rail unions to accept the agreement negotiated by the Biden administration in September.
When rail workers rejected the tentative deal, the president pleaded with Congress to act swiftly, warning that a disruption in the rail system would be economically disastrous for an already fragile economy.
Last Wednesday, the House voted 290 to 137, with 79 Republicans joining 211 Democrats in voting to approve the measure. Eight Democrats and 129 Republicans voted against the legislation.
In a separate 221 to 207 vote, the House approved a separate resolution adding seven days of paid sick leave to the contract instead of the current one day.
In the Senate, the contract measure passed 80 to 15 with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul voting present.
However, the Senate failed to get 60 votes for Bernie Sanders’ amendment to add seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement.
With the brokered agreement passed in Congress, President Biden signed the measure into law on Friday.
But not everyone is happy with the move.
Senator Sanders fumed over the failure of the sick leave amendment, blasting the rail industry for making “record-breaking profits” while refusing to provide workers sick leave.
During the debate in the House, Arkansas Republican Congressman Rick Crawford accused the rail unions of putting a gun at the head of the American people to get what they wanted.
Texas Republican Troy Nehls hammered President Biden for taking a victory lap over the agreement before the election only to leave it in the hands of Congress “to clean up his mess and avoid a rail strike.”
After signing the bill on Friday, Biden once again took a victory lap, claiming that he was able to negotiate a contract that “no one else could negotiate.”
