Tuesday, June 27 2006 10:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The House International Committee today takes up for fine-tuning the Civilian Nuclear Energy legislation amidst optimism that there will be no dilution in the bill which is expected to strengthen India's point of view in the landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

Officials feel that non-operative references in the legislation will only go to strengthen India's point of view and perceptions as the bill will be India-specific and the legislation is in the national security interests of America.

The 'mark up' legislation, aimed at exempting US exports of nuclear material, equipment and technology to India from certain requirements of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, will be taken up by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow.

The House Committee will have as its base the bipartisan Hyde-Lantos Bill which is said to incorporate the original administration version along with inputs of Ranking Member Tom Lantos and Howard Berman Bill which was introduced separately.

Officials say there will be a 'lot of language' on issues such as centrality of non-proliferation regimes and how the non-proliferation treaty is the 'fulcrum' of the regimes.

"At the same time, there will also be specific references to criteria automatically ruling out the legislation being extended to countries such as Pakistan," they said.

The statement of policy in the bill will be 'virtually consistent' with the July 18, 2005 statement, said a senior source.

"It will refer to India working with the US on a fissile material cutoff treaty, progress on an additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency and will have references to the Proliferation Security Initiative, the Wassannar Arrangement and the Australia Group," he said.

The only 'problem' will be of references to Iran. It is being pointed that all of the above will come under the non-operative part and the exhortations have been aimed at taking people on board 'particularly but not exclusively' the Democrats.

The source said that the operative part will consist of a series of determinations that the US President would have to make.

The 50-member International Relations Committee will 'mark up' the legislation and send it to the House for a debate and vote but not before amendments are considered and voted on individually.

The procedure envisoned is for a vote on the Law which will be followed by a vote on the nuclear agreement or the 123 agreement and IAEA protocol.

Although the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to take up legislation for the 'mark up' tomorrow, language on fissile material production is apparently not in conformity with the July 18, 2005 statement, a source said.

But officials feel the administration has been doing its fair share of the work in an effort to carry the legislation through in the House and Senate both comfortably and in a bipartisan fashion.

"If it passes narrowly and in a bipartisan way, it is not going to serve the purpose," an official said.