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Berman resolution invokes Hyde Act

K.V. Prasad

NEW DELHI: The United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee did finally schedule a resolution on the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation, strongly invoking the provisions of the Henry J. Hyde Act, with a rider that the U.S. will work with member countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to call off the deal in case of testing by India.

The un-numbered resolution introduced by Chairman Howard Berman, listed under Suspension of Rules in the business on Thursday, directs the government that in the event that nuclear transfer to India is suspended or terminated, Washington will seek to prevent the transfer to India of nuclear equipment or technology from other governments in the NSG or from any other source.

While the resolution makes no specific reference to nuclear testing, the reference to the Hyde Act means that the law, as and when passed by both chambers in the U.S. Congress, includes nuclear testing.

Mr. Berman, whose Committee has been holding on to the documents transmitted to it by President George Bush on September 10, also urged that the administration ask India to sign the additional protocol with the IAEAat an “earliest possible date.” It is silent on how the U.S. should engage India on Iran but the fact that it mentions the Hyde Act that urges New Delhi’s engagement on the issues, indicates that the issue is yet to be resolved.

An early study of the draft resolution indicates the President will now have to give an undertaking to the Congressional committees, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee as to how it is working with the NSG on restricting the transfer of equipment and technology relating to enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel.

By placing the resolution under suspension of rules, the Chair has limited the debate to 40 minutes without amendments, but if there is a variance between what the House clears and the Senate adopts, the matter will have to be reconciled in a conference meeting between representatives of both the chambers.

We will wait for vote: Shivshankar Menon

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