US hopeful of Congress approving nuke deal in current session

Washington, Jul 24 (UNI) The White House has expressed hope that the US Congress will go ahead with the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement before the end of its current session.

''We are going to continue to work with everyone in the community that has been supportive of this bill -- or this measure, this initiative,'' White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

''We remain optimistic and will try to work with these communities closely in the next few weeks. There are some steps that have to take place before our Congress can even take a vote on it.

Congress has to be in session for 30 days for it to happen,'' Ms Perino said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on winning vote of confidence in Parliament over the Nuclear agreement.

''This means that India can now approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) to operationalise the nuclear deal, assured of the necessary domestic political support,'' a White House statement said.

USINPAC Chairman Sanjay Puri said ''we will rally the Indian-American community and engage all like-minded allies to ensure this deal gets included in the US Congressional calendar for this year. We look forward to the day when this important milestone in US-India relations is finalised.

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