(Washington, DC) - U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, today hailed House passage of the U.S.-India civilian nuclear energy deal. Ackerman, who was twice elected as the Democratic Co-Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans, had led the effort in Congress to implement the agreement. The following are the remarks he delivered during debate of the measure. 

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of HR 7081, the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act.

Today, the House will consider the culmination of three years of difficult work in Washington and New Delhi and take the final step to fashion a new policy towards India, one that reflects the realities of the 21st Century and acknowledges India’s emergence onto the world stage.

The bill before us will give Congressional approval to civil nuclear cooperation with India. Let me tell you what that means. It means that the IAEA will be able to inspect 2/3 of India’s civilian nuclear facilities, because those facilities will be under IAEA safeguards and all future civilian nuclear facilities will also be under safeguards. It means that India, for the first time ever, has committed to MTCR guidelines. It means that India, for the first time ever, will adhere to Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines. It means that India and the IAEA are making substantial progress towards an Additional Protocol. It means that India is committed to working with us to conclude a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. It means that we can send a clear message to nuclear rogue states about how to behave, because it shows that responsible nuclear powers are welcomed by the international community not sanctioned; and it means that we can finally achieve the broad, deep and enduring strategic relationship with India, that all of us in this House support. So if you wanted all these things two years ago when we established this process, then you are for this bill now!

Some Members have expressed concern that the agreement with India doesn’t go far enough, that it doesn’t rollback India’s nuclear weapons program, that it doesn’t include all of India’s nuclear facilities, and that it sends the wrong message to rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea.

For 30 years Mr. Speaker, U.S. policy towards India has been defined and constrained by our insistence on punishing India for its sovereign decision not to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Truth be told, had India conducted its nuclear tests earlier, it would have been treated like China, Russia, France, Britain, and the United States: in short, as a grandfathered member of the nuclear weapons club. But they did not and nothing we have tried over the last three decades has convinced them to give up their nuclear weapons.  And nothing we say over the next 3 decades will convince them either. 

India is a responsible nuclear power and deserves to be treated that way. The bill before us does just that.

Critics have expressed concerns regarding the agreement’s impact on our non-proliferation policy and clearly Iran, Pakistan and North Korea are all looking for clues about what this deal means for them and their nuclear programs. I think the message is clear: if you want to be treated like India, be like India! Be a responsible international actor with regard to WMD technologies, don’t sell your nuclear technologies to the highest bidder, don’t provide it to terrorists, be a democracy, a real democracy, and work with us on important foreign policy objectives not against us. That’s the message we send today.

Does it warm your heart and make you comfortable that Iran and North Korea signed the NPT and are now running away from their freely accepted obligations and away from IAEA inspections? 

True, India did not sign the NPT yet it is embracing the IAEA, embracing global non-proliferation norms and is a democracy. India’s attitude should be recognized and commended.

There are two options before us today. One is to throw away all the work that has been done since July 2005 and keep the status quo. India will pursue its national interests as it has been doing outside the non-proliferation mainstream and we inspect nothing. The other is to make the deal with India and get for the United States and the international community a window in perpetuity into 2/3 of India’s existing nuclear facilities and all of its future civilian nuclear facilities

I think the choice is clear. This bill before us brings India into the non-proliferation mainstream and gets the United States and the international community access to India’s civilian nuclear facilities.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for a 21st Century policy towards India, one that supports and encourages India’s emergence as a responsible global power and solidifies the U.S.-India bilateral relationship for decades to come. The bill before us today is that new policy. Vote yes on H.R. 7081!”

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