On the eve of the June 29 meeting, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Republican Party majority leader Richard Lugar described the nuclear pact as the most important strategic diplomatic initiative undertaken by President George W Bush—a sentiment echoed by both Democratic and Republican senators as they voted 15 to 2 in favor of the bill.
Members of the House International Relations Committee two days earlier, with almost identical sentiments expressed, voted 37 to 5 for a similar bill.
The two houses of Congress will almost certainly support a nuclear deal by an overwhelming margin with support from the leadership of both major political parties, making this initiative one of the few significant trouble-free policies of the Bush administration.
What happened to turn this widespread skepticism into trust?
I think there are three explanations.
First was the judicious White House decision to support a modification of the draft bill to give the Congress a role in the implementation of the deal that was missing in its original version. Second, the supporters were quite effective in convincing members of Congress that the strategic gains outweighed the risks to nuclear nonproliferation. Third and perhaps most important, was vigorous lobbying, especially the efforts of the increasingly influential Indian-American community.
The Bush administration—for tactical reasons—had largely kept Congress uninformed about the initiative to make India an exception to US nonproliferation legislation, a decision that deeply antagonized both Republican and Democratic legislators. They were also angry that the administration’s draft bill lacked Congressional oversight over a proposal that is a dramatic departure from long-established nonproliferation policy.
... contd.
