Nuclear deal near finish line as House gets ready to vote

He said this was important to “clarify meanings” of several ambiguous issues in the agreement. Due to all the delay that has complicated matters for the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement, the Bush Administration had to ask Congress to waive the 30-day waiting period which meant bringing a Bill—and that allowed Congress to add conditions. Though non-binding on the US President, sources said, they can be irritants and also deter India from entering into large contracts with the US.

The House debated the approval resolution for 40 minutes with 20 speakers taking the floor. While Berman introduced it and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen seconded it from the Republican camp, the principal opposition was from Democrat Congressman from Massachusetts Edward Markey. Berman highlighted three areas where Congressional oversight had improved and argued that if this was postponed, then the next Administration would not require a waiver and the oversight requirements would not be inserted.

These, according to Berman, are:

• Congress gets the right under the Bill to disapprove a Presidential decision to resume civil nuclear cooperation with any country that tests a nuclear weapon.

• It gives Congress the ability to review the future reprocessing arrangements that will allow India to reprocess spent US fuel.

• US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made a “personal commitment” to Berman that in a change of policy, the US will make its “highest priority” at the November meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to ban transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology to countries that have not signed the NPT.

Markey, however, argued that the US was fuelling an arms race in South Asia and leaving Pakistan with no choice but to react to this US decision by strengthening its nuclear arsenal. “The Bush Administration would like us to believe that breaking rules will not lead to broken rules for everyone. It is wrong. This is a disastrous nuclear deal…this is an all out nuclear arms race,” he said.

However, as Congressman Frank Pallone pointed out, it is expected that the agreement will be passed with “overwhelming bipartisan support”. Members from both the Republican and Democrat camps, particularly the Jewish lobby, spoke strongly in favour of the deal.