Bush to Press Nuclear Deal With India

By Jay Solomon in Rabat, Morocco, and Niraj Sheth in New Delhi

Wall Street Journal

September 8, 2008

The Bush administration, seeking to secure a landmark nuclear-cooperation deal with India before its term expires, will push Congress to pass the required legislation by the end of the month.

The State Department will likely begin as early as this week to submit to congressional committees the comprehensive legislation, knows as the "Hyde Package," U.S. officials said. The goal is to force an up-or-down vote by Sept. 26, the end of the current Congress's term.

"If we have any hope at all, we need to get this done before the adjournment," said a senior U.S. official working on the India legislation. "We still have a lot of hurdles in front of us."

The deal would pave the way for the U.S. to supply India with nuclear fuel and technology for civilian use. It could also open up more opportunities for American civilian and military-technology companies, like Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., to do business in the world's second-most-populous nation.

India's Congress Party, which leads the country's coalition government, has put a priority on improving India's access to nuclear power through this deal. Although the country's economy is slowing, it is still growing fast, and the nation needs to increase power generation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Saturday during a trip to Algeria that she has already been in contact with congressional committee chairmen to see if they can expedite the India legislation before Congress breaks.

Administration officials identified two congressional players, both Democrats, as central to determining the legislation's fate: California's Howard Berman, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Joe Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic vice-presidential nominee.

Sen. Biden has been a key administration ally in supporting the India deal and had vowed earlier this year to "work like the devil" to secure its passage. Rep. Berman has been more circumspect, demanding from the Bush administration greater assurances that any U.S. nuclear assistance to India wouldn't be utilized for military purposes.

"Senator Biden welcomes this positive development and urges the Administration to submit the agreement to Congress quickly," a Biden spokeswoman said in an email.

In a statement, Rep. Berman on Sunday expressed support for cooperation on civilian nuclear energy with India. But he said before it votes, Congress needs to study a decision made on Saturday by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an international body that regulates trade in nuclear materials, to lift a three-decade-old ban on doing such trade with India.

"The burden of proof is on the Bush administration so that Congress can be assured that what we're being asked to approve conforms with U.S. law," he said.

Ms. Rice has acknowledged in recent days that time is running out on one of her administration's principal foreign-policy initiatives. But she said on Saturday that even if the India deal isn't approved this year, Mr. Bush will "leave behind a good package" for the next administration to take up.

The board of governors of the United Nations' atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has unanimously approved an inspections agreement with India -- a precondition for completing the deal.

The deal could also boost Indian spending on U.S. military technology outside of nuclear energy. American businesses have backed the nuclear pact, which would ease restrictions on civilian and military technology exports to India.

U.S. companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin have used the momentum created by the nuclear deal to bid to provide 126 fighter jets to the Indian government, in a deal valued at between $8 billion and $10 billion. But India could also turn to French or Russian companies, which have indicated interest in selling technology to India.

Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony arrived Sunday for a four-day visit to Washington, where he is expected to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to discuss potential deals to buy U.S. military technology, among other issues.