Sen. Paul to Newsmax: Congress Shouldn't Get Involved in Mediating Labor Contracts

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax that Congress shouldn't get involved in mediating contracts between labor and management, hours after the Senate voted to reject a proposal to give railway workers seven days of sick leave, a benefit left out of a labor deal between freight rail companies and union workers brokered by the Biden administration.

"Once Congress gets involved in this, I would guess that they'll keep running to Congress," Paul said Thursday during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "Spicer & Co."

"I don't think it's a good idea, really, to have Congress involved with mediating contracts between labor and management. I actually voted unusually 'present' because I don't think there's any role for Congress, and Congress shouldn't say whether labor is right, or management is right."

"I think had we not gotten in the middle of this they would have come to an agreement, because obviously a strike is not only bad for the country, it's bad for labor, and it's also bad for management, but by Congress coming to the rescue I think it encourages this to happen again and this isn't really the way the marketplace or the way people should figure out their wages. It's not the way we should have collective bargaining," he added.

The proposal to give workers seven days of sick leave failed to pick up enough Republican support to overcome a 60-vote threshold set for adopting the measure and fell in a 52-43 vote.

Six Republicans voted for the sick leave measure, including Sens. Mike Braun of Indiana, Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Marco Rubio of Florida.

Paul also said lawmakers need to control spending ahead of a Dec. 16 deadline to reach a government funding deal and proposed the passage of 12 individual spending bills, with the one bill for the Treasury — that is going to fund 87,000 IRS agents — "let's hold that one hostage until hell freezes over and never give in."

"Let's actually defeat them and show the American people, particularly conservatives, that we will fight and use the power of the purse," he said.

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