Wednesday, April 12 2006 10:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Describing the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement as the 'right deal' for America, the Bush administration has said that it is currently working with Congress on the pact with a view to implementing it.

"We are working with Capitol Hill. The Secretary (of State) had testimony last week in support of this deal. What needs to happen is that Congress needs to consider any changes to the law. There's draft legislation, you know, that's out there", State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday (Apr 11, 2006).

"So we're going to continue to work very closely with Capitol Hill on any questions that they may have concerning the draft legislation, concerning the negotiating record and any other issues that may arise concerning the deal," he added.

Defending the agreement, he said: "We believe it's the right deal for the United States. We think it's good for both countries. And certainly we're going to be working on behalf of legislation that would allow the deal to be implemented," McCormack said.

The civilian nuclear energy deal, currently before Congress, will be facing further scrutiny when Congress returns from its Easter recess with the United States Senate expected to hold further testimony on the subject in the week of April 24.