Washington (PTI): Facing the final hurdle, the Bush Administration on Monday geared up to get the 123 Agreement quickly approved by the American Congress to bring the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal to fruition, as a key critic raised questions on an expedited timetable.
After winning a Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) waiver, the US is hoping for a bipartisan support for the Agreement with India getting the green signal from the nuclear cartel for resuming nuclear commerce after it approved the waiver.
In signs that the top echelons of the State department were investing their personal energy to see the 123 Agreement through , US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is herself leading the charge to open talks with Congress leaders at the earliest. The Congress, which opened on Monday, will be in session till Sept.26. Rice has admitted that the Congressional calendar is short.
Though the Administration has voiced optimism over a Congress approval, potential problems loomed large with Senator Howard Berman, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a vocal critic of the deal, saying it should first convince the lawmakers on the need for special procedures to speed up the process.
The Congress is being asked by the Administration to do away with the mandatory 30-day period before it can take up the Agreement for a simple yes-no vote without a debate.
If the US administration wants to seek special procedure to quicken Congressional consideration of the accord, it should show how the NSG decision is consistent with the Hyde Act, including which technology can be sent to India and what impact a nuclear test by New Delhi would have, Berman said.
A senior U.S. official working on the India legislation was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal: "We still have a lot of hurdles in front of us."
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