, Plans for the U.S. Congress to approve a landmark deal that would allow India to buy U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors hit a snag on Dec. 6 when Republican leaders in the House of Representatives halted action on the legislation, congressional sources said.
The sources, who support the deal and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they still hoped the bill could be approved but time was running out because Congress plans to adjourn this week for the year.
The legislation would make changes in U.S. law to allow nuclear-armed India to buy U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors for the first time in 30 years.
The House of Representatives and the Senate adopted competing versions of the bill so congressional negotiators worked through the night to reconcile differences to reach a compromise, which has not been made public.
Plans were to have both chambers give final approval to the legislation on Dec. 6, but then House Republican Majority leader John Boehner of Ohio halted action, congressional sources said.
A spokesman for Boehner was not immediately available for comment.
“We settled our text, worked everything through and then Boehner told HIRC (House International Relations Committee) representatives to stop moving the bill,” one Democratic source said.
Another source added: “Work was progressing nicely until this morning. It seemed clear sailing but suddenly we hit a reef.”
The sources said they did not know the exact reason for the delay, but they believed Republicans were squabbling over adding unrelated provisions to the bill.
The U.S.-India nuclear deal is strongly favored by the Bush administration. On Dec. 6, Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said one of his priorities was to have Congress pass the bill this week. But that popularity makes it an appealing vehicle for attaching other items that have less political support.
The deal reverses 30 years of U.S. policy which until July 2005 opposed nuclear cooperation with India because the South Asian democracy never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and developed nuclear weapons in contravention of international standards.
