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| Indo-US nuclear bill hits procedural road block | | |
WASHINGTON, DEC 7
A legislation to implement the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear deal appeared to have hit a road block when Conferees of the House of Representatives and Senate failed to file a final report with Rules Committee prior to the consideration of the House.
At one time yesterday, there was the thinking that the Conferees' committee had agreed on the final version of the legislation that had to clear both the House and the Senate before the Congress adjourns this week for the year to meet in January.
One version doing the rounds is that the legislation has become a victim of lame duck politics in the sense that lawmakers are eager to tag legislations that have nothing to do with India or the terms and outlines of what the Conferees have already arrived at.
The first step before being taken up on the House floor was that the Conference Report must be filed with the Rules Committee. That has not happened as of late last night and for reasons unknown. Senior staffers on the Capitol Hill feigned ignorance as to the details of the procedural "roadblock".
According to sources, Republican Majority Leader in House of Representatives John Boehner appeared to be interested in attaching legislations not related to the India Bill.
However, Kevin Smith, spokesperson of Boehner, said he did not know what was holding up the legislation as lawmakers are still working on it.
Smith said the bill was not formally scheduled for vote yesterday but will be put before Congress when Boehner and other leaders "have some sort of a resolution".
He said the procedure will be completed this week itself before the Congress adjourns.
The officials of the Rules Committee could only say that the Conference Report has not been formally filed.
According to sources, some lawmakers, highly critical of the nuclear deal, are making a last ditch attempt to delay the legislation by insisting on jurisdictional oversight. This is not an insurmountable problem as the Rules Committee will be the last word on the subject.
But indications from the Hill and senior officials have been that the legislation -- formally called 'The Henry J Hyde United States India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006' -- will clear the Lame Duck session and in the present context could get through the House today and the Senate shortly thereafter.
The legislation would alter American laws to allow India to buy US nuclear fuel and reactors for the first time in 30 years.
State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the administration was working "very closely" with members and staffers on the Hill.
"It is one of the US President's top priorities to get that through in this Congress, which comes to a conclusion in the not-too-distant future," McCormack said when asked to comment on concerns expressed by India on certain provisions of the bill.
"...We of course stand by the agreement that we signed. In our system there is the Congress; they have a say in approving these kind of agreements that require a change in laws. We believe that anything that the US government does with respect to this agreement should abide by both the spirit and the letter of that agreement," McCormack said.
He said the administration is "confident" that this is an agreement that's going to be implemented.
McCormack said that the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, who is in India to iron out differences on the final legislation before the Congressional procedure, will be discussing a broad range of issues with Indian officials including the so-called 123 Agreement.
"He's going to be talking about that agreement (the civilian nuclear deal), talking about the associated negotiations, the so-called 123 negotiations that are underway; talk about the broad arc of the US-Indian relationship, where that can go; talk about regional issues as well.
"That's something the Secretary is v ery interested in, sort of more and better integration along that arc running from Central Asia down through India," he said. |
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