Congressional leaders vow to consider bill to avoid rail strike

• "Tomorrow morning, we will have a bill on the floor," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the meeting, which also included GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
• "I don’t like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike," Pelosi said.
• "Leader McConnell and I agreed we'd try to get it done ASAP," Schumer added.

The big picture: President Biden on Monday called on Congress to pass legislation forcing railroad workers to accept the labor contract that the White House brokered in September "to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown."

• "As a proud pro-labor President, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement," the president said in a statement.
• "But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal."

Between the lines: It increasingly seemed negotiations between the freight rail companies and their unions weren't moving. And if both sides don't reach a deal by Dec. 9, rail workers could strike — an economically devastating move that could cost an estimated $2 billion a day.

• Previously, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said they would prefer both sides to work this out themselves, as the Washington Post reported.
• Congressional Democrats had been waiting on White House guidance before acting, WaPo also reported.
• Some rail workers had been lobbying members of Congress for a few days of paid sick leave, which isn't included in the Biden-brokered deal. The president shut down any ideas about that addition in his statement.
• "Some in Congress want to modify the deal to either improve it for labor or for management. However well-intentioned, any changes would risk delay and a debilitating shutdown, " Biden said. "The agreement was reached in good faith by both sides."

The other side: Some progressive lawmakers signaled their opposition to the bill after the White House meeting on Tuesday, including Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

• "Every worker deserves paid sick leave," Bush wrote in a tweet.
• "I will not support a deal that does not provide our rail workers with the paid sick leave they need and deserve," she said.
• "Listen, I can’t in good conscience vote for a bill that doesn’t give rail workers the paid leave they deserve," Bowman also wrote on Twitter.

The intrigue: In his statement, Biden noted that he's been pushing for a federal paid leave policy for the past two years. "Every other developed country in the world has such protections for its workers," he said.

Flashback: Congress last stepped in to avoid a rail strike in 1992. Six senators voted against the move, including then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a reporter at the White House briefing on Monday noted, because the dynamic favored workers.

Go deeper: Railroad strike looms over the holidays

• Railroad workers are fed up but hoping to avoid a strike

Editor's note: This story and headline been updated with additional developments.