09 December 2006
Congress Passes U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Bill
Passage secures administration goal with world's largest democracy
Washington – The U.S.-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, legislation that President Bush said “will strengthen the strategic relationship between America and India,” was passed by Congress December 9 in one of its last actions before adjournment.
“I am pleased that our two countries will soon have increased opportunities to work together to meet our energy needs in a manner that does not increase air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, promotes clean development, supports nonproliferation, and advances our trade interests,” the president said in a statement released by the White House.
In a separate statement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the measure will help "build a solid foundation for the enhanced, multi-faceted relationship we seek with India -- a country that is a rising force on the world scene."
"This expansion of peaceful nuclear trade with India will usher in a new partnership between India and the United States based on our shared objective of preventing the spread of dangerous nuclear technology to countries and groups that would use it for evil purposes,” said Representative Tom Lantos, currently ranking minority member of the House International Relations Committee and committee chair in the upcoming 110th Congress.
The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives the afternoon of December 8 by a vote of 330-59, and the Senate by a voice vote early on December 9, codifies the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement, announced July 18, 2005, by President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington, and then signed in early March during Bush's state visit to India. (See related article.)
The original version or the legislation was passed by the House of Representatives July 26 by a vote of 359-68. The Senate, however, made changes in the bill before approving it, 85-12, on November 16. (See related article.)
In the United States, different versions of an approved bill are reconciled before being sent to the president. In this case, the House and Senate conferees agreed on a final product December 7. First the House and then the Senate passed this reconciled version of the bill December 8.
A key element of the agreement is the provision of assistance for India’s civilian nuclear energy sector, which currently provides only 3 percent of the country's electricity. India wants to raise that percentage for economic development purposes.
The United States sees the agreement as a way for India formally to comply with some of the same tenets codified in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which India never signed. India has agreed to separate its nuclear reactors used for civilian purposes from those designated for military use. Further, it has agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor its 14 civilian reactors and to bring them under IAEA safeguards, to continue its moratorium on nuclear weapons testing, and not to transfer nuclear technology to third parties.
For more information, see U.S.-India: Strengthening a Global Partnership and Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
