President Biden Urges Congress to Prevent Rail Shutdown

According to NGFA, President Joe Biden issued a statement tonight calling on Congress to pass legislation immediately to adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad unions and management to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also issued a statement announcing that the House will proceed with legislation this week to adopt the agreement reached by negotiators in September with no changes to the negotiated terms.

National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) President and CEO Mike Seyfert issued the following statement in response: “We commend President Biden for calling on Congress to act immediately to prevent a rail shutdown that would hurt the U.S. agricultural and broader economy. And we thank Speaker Pelosi for responding with urgency to this critical supply chain threat.

"The NGFA represents more than 1,000 grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies that rely on rail transportation to move U.S. grain and grain products. A rail strike or lockout would lead to shutdowns or slowdowns of rail-dependent facilities resulting in harmful consequences to our national and global food security. NGFA urges Congress to deliver a bipartisan bill to the president’s desk well in advance of the Dec. 9 deadline.”