WASHINGTON — President Biden will meet with congressional leaders from each events on Tuesday morning as a nationwide freight rail strike looms and lawmakers are confronted with choices within the coming days about funding the federal government and defending same-sex marriage.
In a quick assertion, the White Home mentioned Mr. Biden had summoned the leaders to a gathering within the Roosevelt Room “to debate legislative priorities by means of the top of 2022.”
Mr. Biden and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill are hoping to profit from the subsequent few weeks, whereas the celebration nonetheless controls each chambers of Congress. When the brand new Congress begins early subsequent yr, Republicans could have a slim majority within the Home, giving them management over the agenda there.
On Monday night time, Mr. Biden urged lawmakers to swiftly go laws that might forestall a labor stoppage by rail employees subsequent month, saying that such a transfer may have devastating results on the nation’s financial system.
“Congress has the facility to undertake the settlement and stop a shutdown,” the president mentioned in a press release. “It ought to put aside politics and partisan division and ship for the American folks. Congress ought to get this invoice to my desk properly prematurely of Dec. 9 so we are able to keep away from disruption.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi mentioned in a press release on Monday night time that the Home would vote on that problem this week, forward of a strike deadline set for early December. Mr. Biden is prone to urge Senate leaders to observe go well with throughout the assembly on the White Home on Tuesday morning.
Later Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on laws to supply federal protections for same-sex marriages. If the invoice passes, the Home will nonetheless need to vote on it earlier than the top of the present Congress and ship it to Mr. Biden’s desk for his signature.
Lawmakers additionally face a mid-December deadline to fund the federal authorities. A failure to agree on a short lived spending bundle may shut down components of the federal authorities, and Mr. Biden will probably use the assembly on Tuesday to name on members of Congress to keep away from that final result.
