Senate panel approves Indo-US nuke deal but suspense persists

Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Sept 24 (PTI) In a step forward for the
Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Wednesday overwhelmingly supported the initiative but suspense
persisted whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President
George W. Bush will be able to sign the agreement Thursday
with no clear indications that the 123 Agreement will get the
full Congressional nod by then.

The powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee
voted to approve the bill by 19-2, sending it to the full
Senate with only lawmakers -- Barbara Boxer and Russel
Feigngold (both Democrats) -- opposing the measure.

The approval means that the Indo-U.S. bill is now in
the office of the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid
who will have to schedule it for a vote after consultations
with the Republican Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell.

However, top Congressional aides are not sure when or
how the process on the deal is going to be completed with one
assessment being that it may not be fully ready for signing
when Singh meets Bush at the White House Thursday.

The suspense persists since the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, headed by a major critic of the accord Howard
Berman, is yet to schedule a hearing to take a decision on a
vote of approval.

"The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved
a Senate Bill. What happens in the House is separate," a top
House Congressional aide told PTI, stressing nothing could be
said about the timing in the House.

"Chairman (Howard) Berman is conferring with his
colleagues, and deciding on next steps," was all that could be
got out of the senior aide who declined to get into specifics.

But observers are hopeful that the House version of an
Approval Bill is not too different from the Senate version as
that would once again bog down the deal.