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All eyes now on the Capitol Hill

NEW DELHI: With the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) giving a waiver on Saturday, India cleared the last of the three-stage road map towards operationalising the civil nuclear agreement with the United States and from now, on all eyes will be on the Capitol Hill, when the 110th U.S. Congress reassembles for its last scheduled session on Monday.

The Henry J Hyde Act stipulates that Congress will consider the agreement for ratification when President George Bush sends his determination along with three documents: the 123 Agreement with India, the India-specific waiver by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the NSG waiver.

The U.S. lawmakers return to the Hill on September 8 after a five-week recess and will be in session till September 26, target date for adjournment before politicians and people in the United States get immersed in preparation for the November elections.

The Hyde Act also stipulates that once the presidential determination is made, Congress be in 30 days of continuous session for it to consider.

During this period, the Committees of jurisdiction, particularly the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC) and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), will have time to hold hearings and report it out.

Technically, Congress does not have as many days as required, though the Hyde Act enjoyed bi-partisan support.

Whether the process could be speeded up will largely depend on the mood of the leadership of the Democrats-controlled Congress. In the House, the HFAC is headed by Howard Berman, Democrat from California.

Last year, he along with ranking member Illean Ros-Lehtinen, Republican from Florida, introduced a resolution that expressed the sense of the House that the President should withhold support from any proposed exemption for India from the NSG guidelines that was not fully consistent with the Hyde Act and that does not incorporate a number of key provisions.

These provisions included immediate termination of all nuclear commerce by the NSG member-states if India detonates a nuclear device or if the IAEA determines that India has violated its safeguard commitments; a requirement that the safeguards agreement concluded between India and the IAEA provides for safeguards in perpetuity for all nuclear materials, equipment and technology designated as “civil” in accordance with IAEA standards, principles and practices; a prohibition on the transfer of enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water production technology by any NSG member-state to India; and a stipulation that the NSG supplier-states may not give consent to India reprocessing nuclear fuel except in a facility that is under permanent and unconditional safeguards.

In her appearance before the Committee in February last, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said any NSG decision “will have to be completely consistent with the obligations of the Hyde Act.”

The resolution, which Mr. Berman introduced last October as a member, is pending before the committee he heads.

There are indications that the HFAC would like to hold hearings on the issue in the wake of the NSG waiver.

Usually, hearings are held between Tuesdays and Thursdays when most Congress members are present in Washington DC. This further reduces the time available for a Congressional hearing.

On the Senate side, the powerful SFRC is headed by Senator Joseph Biden, vice-presidential running mate of Senator Barack Obama.

Mr. Biden did state in the past that he was willing to work with ranking minority member Richard Lugar to see an “up and down” vote in the Senate, it remains to be seen how much time the Chairman would be able to squeeze as he travels across the country campaigning.

Will it spill over and a lame duck possible is another issue. As of now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands opposed to any move to have a lame duck session after the elections.

The Republican members have in the past few days asserted that Congress is likely to meet after the elections.

Even if there is any effort, much will depend on negotiations between the leadership of the majority Democratic Party and the Republican administration.

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