Nuke deal goes before US House

Stage is set for first floor debate and vote this week, writes S Rajagopalan.

The stage is set for the first floor debate and vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal in the US Congress this week.

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In preparation, the chiefs of the House and Senate panels -- which had passed their respective bills with an overwhelming majority -- have reported the bills to the two chambers.

But even as the deal is called a major diplomatic initiative of the Bush administration, concerns have been raised on Capitol Hill about India's breeder-reactor programme.

Though the date is yet to be notified, the House is slated to vote this week. The Senate will take up the bill when it reconvenes in September.

In his report, House International Relations Committee chairman Henry Hyde said it was in the US's security interest to deepen its relationship with India.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar too welcomed the nuclear deal as "perhaps the most important strategic diplomatic initiative" of the Bush administration.

In the report on the enabling bill which he introduced in the upper House, he, however, expressed concerns over India's breeder-reactor programme and hoped it would be brought under IAEA safeguards.

Hyde said a nuclear cooperation with India can serve US objectives, but “must be approached in a manner that minimises potential risks to the non-proliferation regime".

Despite the concerns, sources said they expected the bill to be cleared by a huge margin.