“I take seriously overriding the 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 American agriculture and millions of other working people and families –Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal. There is no time to waste on political gamesmanship or the search for a more perfect resolution.
“I join the President in calling on Congress to quickly pass legislation adopting the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators – without any modifications or delay – to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown. “The U.S. food and agricultural industry relies heavily on rail networks for the transport of inputs and raw materials and for taking products to market. A rail shutdown would have significant and long-lasting effects on some sectors of American food and agriculture and could be devastating to parts of our economy.”
