'No time for nuke deal now, over to Obama'

The Times of India
Aug 26, 2008

DENVER: The Bush administration and the UPA government can huff and puff all they want to get the US-India nuclear deal past the Nuclear Suppliers group in Vienna next week, but according to a prominent lawmaker who supports the agreement, it's not going to get through Congress in this session and will be deferred to a prospective Obama administration. ''It's not going to happen,'' New York Congressman Gary Ackerman, a Democrat who is also the co-chair of the Indian-American Caucus, told ToI in Denver on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention. ''There simply isn't enough time.'' The way Ackerman explained it, Congress will be in session from September 8 to September 26, much less than the 30-day resting period the US-India agreement needs to be in Congress under current rules. It would be technically possible to waive the rules, but that would be only if Congress forgoes the straight up-down/yes-no vote and the agreement is opened up for debate, which will also mean possible amendments.