The House passed legislation Wednesday to avert a potentially catastrophic rail strike that President Joe Biden warned could threaten the U.S. economy just weeks before Christmas.

The bill, which passed 290-137 with broad bipartisan support, now heads to the Senate, where both Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said lawmakers need to intervene this week. …

House Democratic leaders came up with a creative solution to address the concerns of progressives in their caucus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday night that the House would vote on the rail legislation, which would adopt a tentative agreement the White House negotiated between the railroad companies and labor leaders in September.

But the House will also vote separately Wednesday on a bill that would add seven days of paid sick leave to the deal. Both bills are expected to be sent to the Senate, which can decide how to proceed.

[That’s “creative,” all right. It allows the sick-leave issue to be disconnected from the rest of the deal, and allows it to be defeated in the Senate. — Ed]