House passes India nuclear deal, senator upbeat

By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved an agreement to end the three-decade ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India and the top U.S. senator was upbeat about passage in the Senate.

The agreement passed the House by a margin of 298-117 and the Democrats who control the Senate hope to bring it to a vote there within days despite the opposition of some in their own party, congressional aides said.

U.S. congressional blessing is the last hurdle to the pact, which the Bush administration believes will secure a strategic partnership with the world's largest democracy, help India meet its rising energy demand and open up a market worth billions.

President George W. Bush said in a statement that House passage of the legislation was "another major step forward in achieving the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship."

He urged the Senate to approve it quickly so he could sign it into law. "Signing this bipartisan bill will help strengthen our partnership with India," Bush said.

Critics argue the deal undermines efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and sets a precedent allowing other nations to seek to buy such technology without submitting to the full range of global nonproliferation safeguards.

The agreement has drawn criticism from nonproliferation advocates because India has shunned the Nonproliferation Treaty meant to stop the spread and production of nuclear weapons as well as a companion international pact banning nuclear tests.

In the Senate, a vote has been held up by the objections of some Democrats, said congressional aides who declined to name those blocking a vote.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, urged his colleagues to drop their resistance, noting that under special rules for consideration of the nuclear deal it can ultimately be brought to a vote.

"For people who are concerned about the Indian nuclear agreement, and there are several senators that have concerns about that, all we would be doing is running out the time," he said.

"There's statutory time we have. ... We can run that out. At the end of that time, senators have 10 hours of debate time and then we vote. So there are very few hurdles we have to jump on that," he added.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Peter Cooney)