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Hinson says Congressional work on rail deal needed to happen

A US Representative from Iowa says she hopes the ag industry can breathe a sigh of relief now that a rail strike has been averted.

The House and Senate passed a bill this week preventing the nation’s railroads from shutting down. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says a strike would have been devastating to the US economy.

“I did support the legislation to avert a strike because it would have turned our supply chain on its head,” Hinson said. “It would have been catastrophic for our workers, consumers across the country, and farmers. I heard a lot from the ag community about this.”

She tells Brownfield she was pleased with the bipartisan work from both chambers to get a deal to the finish line.

“I wanted this to go through the regular process and I was hopeful they would be able to come to an agreement, but Congress needed to step in at this point.”

An amendment to add seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers narrowly passed the House, but was rejected by the Senate.

President Biden signed the bill into law Friday morning.