House of Representatives votes out hurdle in N-deal

Sridhar Krishnaswami in Washington, Rediff.com
December 09, 2006 01:17 IST

Pushing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal a step closer to reality, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Friday to overcome a procedural hurdle in the run up to a legislation on the agreement.

The House voted 355-55 on a rule waiving all points of order against the conference report to accompany the bill to exempt the deal from certain requirements of the American Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to allow nuclear commerce between India and the US.

The margin of approval of the rule showed 214 Republicans, 140 Democrats and one Independent came out in support and 55 Democrats in opposition.

The passing of the rule means that when lawmakers debate the deal no new amendments will be allowed.

What the lawmakers have done by approving this rule, established by the Rules Committee, is to set the parameters for the final debate on the civilian nuclear legislation on the floor of the House later in the day.

The division on the rule came after a lone Democrat, Ohio's Dennis Kucinich, demanded the ayes and nays after the Chair ruled that the ayes had prevailed in the voice vote.

Indo-US nuclear deal clears hurdle

Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC, Rediff.com
December 08, 2006 00:34 IST

The House-Senate conference committee compromise legislation to faciliate the US-India civilian nuclear agreement has passed both chambers of Congress and will now go to the President's desk for signature.

Administration sources said a signing ceremony would take place on Monday, December 11 with President George W Bush signing the bill into law.

The legislation which had hit a procedural snag Wednesday afternoon when one of the House conferees House Majority Leader John Boehner had put a hold on the conference committee report, was resolved Thursday morning and with it was sent immediately to the House and Senate for a voice vote that was met with a resonding aye.

'In 2020 the two closest nations in the world will be India and US'

The Rediff Interview | Senator Joseph Biden

December 05, 2006
In a formal step towards the finalisation of the India-US nuclear agreement, United States Senator Joseph Biden, who will take over as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, was one of the six Senators appointed on Monday as conferees for the committee that will work out the final legislation for the agreement, that will be be adopted and sent to President George W Bush for his signature.

In the second part of an exclusive interview to Rediff India Abroad Managing Editor Aziz Haniffa, Senator Biden explained that two of the three or four pillars upon which security for the world will be built in the 21st century are India and the United States.