Nuclear Rules Thrown Out for India, U.S. Congress Vote Still to Come

Press Release

Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the founder and co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, today responded to a vote by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to grant India a waiver to participate in nuclear trade without binding nonproliferation commitments:

"In overtime, the Bush Administration managed to strong-arm the Nuclear Suppliers Group into skirting the normal rules governing international nuclear trade. This agreement effectively blows a hole in the global nonproliferation regime, setting a dangerous precedent. What kind of lesson does it send to countries like Pakistan, Iran and North Korea, when we skirt the rules for our friends, but insist on strict compliance for them? The nuclear supplier nations cannot preach nuclear temperance from a barstool, and the India nuclear deal is going to undermine the credibility of international efforts to prevent the further spread of the bomb.

"The U.S. Congress must still vote to approve this agreement, and no one should assume congressional approval will be automatic. There are only a few weeks left in the session, and it is highly questionable whether such a complex and controversial agreement can be thoroughly examined before the House and Senate adjourn for the elections. The pledges extracted from India on continuing their nuclear moratorium, and on retransfers of nuclear technology, need to be better understood, and there need to be clear consequences if India breaks its commitments or resumes nuclear testing.

"Moreover, this agreement clashes with the law Congress enacted to guide consideration of such an agreement, the Hyde Act, and Congress must therefore either disapprove the deal, or insist on conditions that would bring it into full conformance with the Hyde Act.

"Though the Bush administration might wish it otherwise, the Hyde Act is the law of the land, and it cannot be dismissed for cynical political expediency. Congress should stand by the Hyde Act and take all the time necessary to dissect the details of this agreement before any vote is scheduled."

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