Nuke deal bill to come up before House of Reps on Friday

Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Sep 26 (PTI) Though a Congressional nod
eluded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he met President
George W. Bush, the Bill on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is
expected to come up for debate and voting in the House of
Representatives on Friday.

Singh had flown in from New York on Thursday for the
meeting with Bush at the Oval Office in the White House with
expectations in the Indian side that the Congress would have
completed the business of legislating on the deal the two
leaders entered into in July, 2005.

But they were unable to ink the accord in the absence of
the Congressional approval. "We are working hard to get it
(the deal) passed as quickly as possible," Bush had told
Singh.

Both leaders voiced satisfaction that having brought
the deal to a point where it is about to be adopted by the
Congress, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters
in New York after the meeting at the White House which was
followed by dinner at the Old Family Room.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to Bush for
having decisively intervened at various crucial levels to move
the deal forward.

Menon said he was not worried if the passage of the
deal, which enjoys bipartisan support, is delayed in the
Congress. Such a delay would only mean that the lawmakers are
occupied with other important matters, he said in an obvious
reference to the financial bailout package engaging their
attention.

After a lot of drama and suspense, the bill on the
nuclear deal was introduced in the House of Representatives by
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman,
a strong opponent of some of the provisions of the 123
Agreement, after dropping of killer amendments including one
with a reference to Iran.

This bill is almost identical to the one adopted
overwhelmingly by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with
a rider that all nuclear assistance to India would cease if
New Delhi conducts a test. It is likely to be taken up by the
House for debate and voting on Friday.

The House and the Senate would have to pass the bill
and send it to Bush for the deal to go through before a new
administration takes office in January. It is not clear when
the Senate would take up the accord.

On questions about when the deal is expected to get the
Congressional approval, Menon declined to give any time-frame
or comment on the ongoing political process in the Congress
saying it is the "internal process" of the U.S.

As the Bush administration raced against time, last
minute glitches came in the way before the bill was tabled in
the House.

Berman, who relented and dropped certain objections,
said he would vote for the nuclear deal since the bill
introduced by him ensures Congressional oversight of the
agreement and is consistent with the provisions of the Hyde
Act.
"I support peaceful nuclear cooperation with India,
and in 2006 I voted for the Hyde Act, which established a
framework for this cooperation," Berman said in a briefing to
Republican and Democratic colleagues, according to a statement
released by his office.

The Congressman said he was under no illusion that
India will give up its nuclear weapons as long as the five
recognised nuclear states fail to make "serious reductions in
their arsenals" but went on to add that "I believe it (deal)
is a positive step to integrate India into the global
nonproliferation regime."

Berman said, "I continue to have concerns about
ambiguities in the nuclear cooperation agreement that the Bush
Administration negotiated with the Government of India,
particularly with regard to the potential consequences if
India tests another nuclear weapon, and to the legal status of
so-called 'fuel assurances' made by our negotiators".

On apprehensions that American suppliers of nuclear
equipment would be placed at a disadvantage if the passage of
the deal is delayed, Menon allayed such fears arguing that the
sheer number of reactors that India needs would not allow
that.

"The issue will be of economic competiveness of the
company," he said.

Pointedly asked whether India would be able to do
business with France, Russia and other N.S.G. countries if the
deal was held up, the Foreign Secretary said the waiver of the
45-nation grouping provides that its members can cooperate
with New Delhi.

"It is for the group's members to do so," he said.

Berman, whose original Bill had some language that
could have turned out somewhat uncomfortable for the
administration and India, was persuaded to drop killer
amendments including one on Iran that could have sabotaged the
legislation.

Congressional and political sources maintain that one
reason why the administration may have gone the extra mile in
persuading Berman is the time factor -- by agreeing to the
Senate version valuable time is saved by way of not having to
reconcile two versions in a conference committee in a
legislative calendar that is coming very close to a finish.