New Delhi
30 June 2006
The "historical" vote by the committees in the United States Senate
and House of Representatives on the "presidential initiative" for civilian nuclear
cooperation with India can be credited in part to the influential American-Jewish lobby,
according to US Ambassador to India Dr David C Mulford.
The influential American-Jewish groups have come out in support for making a specific
gesture for India, he told reporters. He attributed the strong bipartisan support for
amending the legislation to the work done by the American-Indian community and the US
businesses in the run-up to the vote by the committees.
According to observers, the envoy's remarks about the American-Jewish lobby indicated
a direct influence on Representative Tom Lantos's utterances on Iran and in getting
Congressmen to incorporate certain clauses about Iran in the Bill on civilian nuclear
cooperation with India.
(Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California who is serving his 13th term in the US House of
Representatives, is a Hungarian Jew. He was quoted in media reports as saying that
India will pay a heavy price for disregarding US concerns vis-à-vis Iran and that India
needed to be told that "in plain English, not in diplomatic English.")
Dr Mulford observed that the "language" contained in the Bills that were voted upon by
the Senate and House committees including the references to Iran were likely to stay.
"They will not be removed, they will continue to exist," he said and explained that the
lawmakers were expressing their views and not imposing conditions.
The envoy said that the change in the US legislation "will happen upfront as promised"
by Washington. He, however, observed that there was "additional work to be done" and
that the Bill was expected to be signed into law by end of July before the US Congress
breaks for recess in August and reassembles in September.
"[The Congressional approval] will be a function of the calendar for floor action ... [the
calendar] is crowded," he said and went on to state that the House and Senate now
needed to come up with a "Conference Report" after eliminating the differences in their
respective Bills, vote on a single Bill and send it to the President.
The US envoy said negotiations on the bilateral agreement (or 123 agreement as it is
called) was "going on" and it was "60 per cent done". He expected the US Congress to
vote on it within a "time limit". The Nuclear Suppliers Group, he added, would be
"galvanised into real action" after the Congress voted.
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