Wednesday, June 28 2006 10:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The landmark Indo-US nuclear deal has sailed through a key congressional panel with the passage of a bill seeking its implementation after voting against three amendments including one that sought New Delhi to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The 50-member House International Relations Committee approved by a vote of 37 to 5 the legislation designed to make exemptions in the 1954 Atomic Energy Act to enable US to sell nuclear fuel and technology in return for non-proliferation and safeguard commitments from India.

The Bill will now go to the House of Representatives for debate and vote, which is expected to materialise sometime next month before the Congress breaks for a summer recess.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which was scheduled to take up the issue today, will now debate it tomorrow.

During the 'markup' or finetuning of the bi-partisan bill HR 5682 yesterday, an amendment offered by a lawmaker from California, which sought to add language in the bill to the effect that India should sign the NPT, was defeated 36-4.

Another amendment seeking to place limitations on nuclear transfers unless a presidential determination has been made regarding India's adherence to a unilateral moratorium on production of fissile material was also defeated 31-12.

The Committee also voted out by 32 to 13 an amendment seeking a Presidential determination that India is adhering to a unilateral moratorium on the production of fissile material and also to a multilateral moratorium on the production of fissile material.



The Committee approved by a voice vote the amendment brought by Joseph Crowley which stipulated that the President would submit to the House and Senate international committees a report describing any nuclear reactors or nuclear facilities that India has designated as civilian and placed under inspection or has designated as military.

It also approved by voice vote a proposal by Ed Royce that nothing in the Act or agreement pursuant to the Act shall be interpreted as permitting any civilian nuclear cooperation between US and India that would encourage or assist India to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear explosive devises.

The landmark legislation, proposed to be cited as the 'United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act of 2006', was piloted by chairman of the House Committee Henry Hyde, Ranking member Tom Lantos and the co-chairs of the India Caucus Gary Ackerman and Ilena Ros Lehtines.

The basic framework for the nuclear deal was laid out last July in Washington by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush. The pact was finalised during Bush's India visit this March this year.

Hyde said at the end of the debate said that the measure brings India into the mainstream with other accountable countries, giving rise to the same benefits and responsibilities as other such states. The US enjoys a close relationship with India, and we are only growing closer.

During the House Committee debates, supporters of the historic Indo-US nuclear deal described it as an 'unmistakable gain' for non-proliferation.

Introducing the bill, Hyde stressed that this version of the legislation is much stronger than what the administration had suggested earlier. Hyde said that a number of areas have been 'significantly tightened' especially as it has to with Presidential certification.

"This new bill is based upon administration's original proposal but has been amended with several significant changes, the most prominent of which concerns the role of Congress," Hyde said adding the original bill was conceived in a profoundly unsatisfactory manner.

Under the deal, first agreed upon by Bush and Singh in July 18, 2005, the US would help develop civil nuclear power programmes in India in return for New Delhi placing its civil nuclear facilities under safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Likening it with the opening up of China in 1971, Ranking member Lantos said the agreement would not only bring about 'a geo-strategic alignment' but is 'an unmistakable gain for non-proliferation.'

"In terms of the impact of this legislation on the new geostrategic alignment between India and the US for the balance of the 21st century, the importance of this legislation cannot be overstated.We are about to see a sweeping strategic realignment of India's global policies for the 21st century," he said during the 'historic hearing'.

"(It is an) unmistakable opportunity to advance our non proliferation goals by rewarding a country that possesses nuclear technology but has not used it to spread nuclear weapons capability around the globe India has no A Q Khan," he said referring to the proliferation network headed by the disgraced former top Pakistani scientist. Ackerman called the bill as a 'right balance' and one that deserved careful consideration. The New York Democrat argued that it is better to have India inside the non proliferation system than outside.

"If you want to be treated like India, be like India," Ackerman said in an apparent reference to countries which are critical to the deal clinched between India and the US.

A one time critic of India, Republican Dan Burton of Indiana said that the civilian nuclear agreement 'has a lot of merit' and that India will be a greater ally of the United States and a good partner down the road.

The full House and Senate would also have to approve legislation on implementing the nuclear pact, then reconcile differences between their bills.

The five law makers who voted against the legislation were Republican legislators James Leach, Ted Poe and Christopher Smith and Democrats Diane Watson and Barbara Lee.

Some lawmakers who spoke at the House Commitee hearing were sceptical about the Indo-US deal, with Republican James Leach warning that Pakistan would respond to it with more nuclear weapons.





"We had visits in the last month by high level Pakistani representatives who made it very clear that if this deal goes through, Pakistan will respond with more nuclear weapons. And so, affirmation of this agreement is affirmation of other countries going forward the nuclear way," he said.

Leach argued that while this may be a new day in India-US relations, it was a sad day for non-proliferation and not a happy day for the world.

"Passage of the nuclear deal would open the door for a whole host of countries to press claims for similar nuclear cooperation," he said.

Leach said "Anyone who wants to present this as a happy day is making a very serious mistake, adding the NPT has been knifed by an executive action".