N-deal: 'Violating Hyde Act will put Congressional approval at risk'

Even as India and the US were trying feverishly to come to terms with the so-called 123 Agreement and give final shape to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, a Democratic lawmaker has warned the Bush administration and India, that any attempt to "violate" the Hyde Act in letter or spirit will put Congressional approval on the deal at "serious" risk.

Edward Markey, a Democratic Congressman from Massachussetts and one of the lawmakers on Capitol Hill who has opposed the Indo-US civil nuclear deal from the very beginning on non-proliferation grounds, said, "President Bush made a huge mistake when he decided to eviscerate our non-proliferation laws in order to restart nuclear trade with India."

"The idea that the incredibly generous 2006 Hyde Act is too restrictive is absurd, and if President Bush negotiates an agreement with India that violates the letter or spirit of the Hyde Act, he will be putting Congressional approval at serious risk," he said in a statement.

I am concerned that the Bush administration, which is predisposed to disregarding laws it dislikes, would consider throwing out the rule-book on a topic as critical as nuclear non-proliferation, he added.

It has been pointed out that the Hyde Act which passed in December 2006 created an unique exception to US nuclear export law to allow nuclear cooperation with India for the first time in over 30 years, and set the legal boundaries governing any such cooperation.

When a final technical agreement is negotiated between India and the Bush administration, it will have to come before Congress again for final approval.

"According to press reports, the Indian government is seeking to draft an agreement, which would work around several of the most significant restrictions mandated by the Hyde Act.

"These restrictions include, a strict prohibition on further Indian nuclear tests, permanent and unconditional international safeguards on declared Indian facilities and materials, a refusal to assure supply of nuclear fuel in the event that cooperation is terminated, a general prohibition on cooperation on plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment, and a requirement for US prior consent for the reprocessing or enrichment of US-origin nuclear material," Markey noted.

"I still believe that the Hyde Act deals a significant blow to our nuclear non-proliferation efforts. But the Hyde Act does contain a number of minimal conditions which must be met for nuclear cooperation to go forward. If the Bush administration brings Congress an agreement that breaks the law, it shouldn't be surprised if it gets rejected," Markey maintained.