GOP rep says Congress won’t allow potential rail strike: ‘Failure is not an option here’

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) on Sunday said Congress will not let a national railroad workers strike hurt the U.S. economy.

Fitzpatrick told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Jennifer Griffin that negotiations are ongoing between railroad unions and companies, so “congressional intervention is a last resort.”

But if negotiations fail, Congress “will not let this strike happen,” he added.

“That’s for sure. It would be devastating to our economy. So, we’ll get to a resolution one way or another,” Fitzpatrick, co-chief of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of 58 lawmakers, said.

A railroad strike could begin as soon as Dec. 9 after one of the largest railroad unions last week rejected a contract negotiated by the Biden administration.

A nationwide railroad strike would disrupt supply chains and cost an estimated $2 billion per day, with a monthlong nationwide strike possibly causing the loss of 700,000 jobs.

The Biden administration in September helped avoid a rail worker’s strike after it helped two unions come to a tentative agreement.

Fitzpatrick on Sunday said Congress cannot let a railroad strike further hinder the economy as the U.S. continues to struggle with high inflation and existing supply chain snarls.

“Failure is not an option here. We cannot have our transportation system responsible for one third of our products being transported throughout our country struck down,” he said. “That’s not an option.”