STORY: Fearing a crippling, nationwide rail strike ahead of the holiday season...

the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve a bill that would avert the looming walkout...

“On this vote, the yays are 290, the nays are 137, the joint resolution has passed.”

A majority of lawmakers favored the measure to force unions and companies to accept a tentative contract deal reached in September..

Separately, the House also voted to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees…

but that faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"We know much more needs to be done for railroad workers (EDIT) No one should be at risk of losing his or her job by staying home when sick, needing to see a doctor or getting lifesaving surgery."

The House action comes one day after President Joe Biden warned of the catastrophic impact of a rail stoppage that could begin as early as Dec. 9.

BIDEN ON TUESDAY: “...there's a lot to do including resolving the train strike, what we're doing now, and Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it. It's not an easy call but I think we have to do it. The economy's at risk.”

A rail strike could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke already surging inflation and cost the American economy as much as $2 billion per day... it could also strand millions of Amtrak and commuter rail passengers.

After the vote, Biden called on the Senate to act "urgently” and warned that without a final vote this week... railroads could soon begin to halt the movement of critical materials like chemicals essential to clean drinking water.

Biden did not address the separate paid sick leave proposal.

Railroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose amending the contract deal that was struck in September largely on the recommendations of an emergency board appointed by Biden.

The influential business lobby group said the sick leave, if passed and signed into law, "would impose an unworkable, one-sided modification to a labor agreement."

There are no paid short-term sick days under the tentative deal after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day.

Eight of 12 unions have ratified the deal. But some labor leaders have criticized Biden for asking Congress to impose a contract that workers in four unions have rejected over its lack of paid sick leave.