Sen. Bernie Sanders objected Wednesday to an effort to get unanimous Senate consent to a measure that would seek to avert a work stoppage in the freight rail industry that could begin as early as Friday.
Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C., came to the Senate floor to seek unanimous consent to a joint resolution that would require the unions and railroads to accept the recommendations of a presidential emergency board to avoid a strike or lockout. The effort came as the Friday expiration approaches of a 30-day cooling off period that began when the board made the recommendations on Aug. 16.
“If we do not force this issue, at 12:01 tomorrow night, railroads will shut down and the economic impact on the American people is $2 billion a day,” Burr said. “This is the president’s bipartisan emergency board that came back with its recommendation to the Biden administration.”
