The landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal on Thursday took a major step towards getting the legislative stamp.
Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, DC: The landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal on Thursday took a major step towards getting the legislative stamp with a Republican lawmaker failing to attach unrelated issues to the bill, clearing the decks for its submission to the Rules Committee.
The process is on for getting the signatures of the nine Conferees of the House and the Senate so that the Conference Report can be filed in the Rules Committee.
The Ranking Member of the House International Relations Committee and the Incoming Chair of the powerful panel has signed the Conference Report, a senior official said.
The word from Capitol Hill is that the legislation has moved forward with the "hold" by the lawmaker having been lifted.
After submission to the Rules Committee, the final legislation will be ready to be moved on the floor of the House of Representatives. On its passage here the Senate will take up the legislation soon thereafter.
The vote on the legislation on the House floor is expected during the day. The House and the Senate are expected to formally adjourn on Friday.
Earlier, the bill had appeared to have hit a roadblock when Conferees of the House of Representatives and Senate failed to file a final report with Rules Committee prior to the consideration of the House.
According to sources, Republican Majority Leader in House of Representatives John Boehner appeared to be interested in attaching legislations not related to the India-specific Bill.
One version doing the rounds was that the legislation had become a victim of lame duck politics in the sense that lawmakers are eager to tag legislations that have nothing to do with India or the terms and outlines of what the Conferees have arrived at.
According to sources, some lawmakers, highly critical of the nuclear deal, had made a last ditch attempt to delay the legislation by insisting on jurisdictional oversight.
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