Two conservative US Senators have threatened to block the Senate version of the bill from coming to the floor for debate and voting, if Title II -- also known as the IAEA Additional Protocol -- is not dropped from the enabling legislation passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by an overwhelming 16-2 margin June 29.
On that day, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Senator Richard Lugar had said that he and co-author Senator Joe Biden had "agreed to add an important piece of nonproliferation legislation to this bill as Title II."
Lugar recalled then that "in 2004, the Senate ratified the IAEA Additional Protocol, but Congress has not passed implementing legislation that is required before the treaty can go into effect."
He noted that President George W Bush had asked Congress to act on this issue, and that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had voted unanimously in favour in March. "Unfortunately, we have been unable to secure Senate passage by unanimous consent.
"At a time when the US is demanding that India complete and ratify an Additional Protocol as part of our civilian nuclear agreement and we are continuing to demand that Iran abide by its Additional Protocol, it is important that Congress complete its work."
He warned that continued failure to pass the bill would weaken America's standing and President Bush's leverage on these important issues.
Neither the Bush administration nor the Government of India had any problem with the addition of this provision to the nuclear bill.
Now, however, Senators Jon Kyl and John Eric Ensign, both Republicans, are preparing to throw a spanner into the machinery.
Both Senators say they are in favor of the US-India nuclear deal, but cannot support the enabling legislation unless Title II is not removed.
Faced with this attitude by the two Senators, Lugar has stuck to his guns; he maintains that Title II will remain in the legislation when it comes to the Senate floor for debate and voting.
The stand-off comes at a time when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had assured the administration and the pro-India lobby that he hopes to bring the bill for a floor vote in or around the third week of September.
Congressional sources close to Kyl and Ensign told Rediff India Abroad the two Senators believe Title II devolves all authority to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and would preclude the US from acting unilaterally against 'rogue States' like Iran and North Korea, "who are clandestinely developing nuclear weapons and endangering the security of the US and its allies."
Title II binds America's hands behind its back, they argue.
Senior diplomatic sources speak of their frustration
"What is so utterly galling is that Title II doesn't even have anything to do with India and its bilateral relations with the US," a senior Indian diplomat told Rediff India Abroad. "The whole thing is about implementing the US's Additional Protocol with the IAEA."
These Indian sources are peeved that Lugar tagged this provision onto the enabling legislation instead of introducing it independently. "If you are going to get into a fight with other members of the Senate from your own party, then why tag this on in the first place?" the source asked.
The Indian diplomatic sources said they believe Lugar was trying to pull a fast one and push the Additional Protocol through along with the India-US nuclear bill, in furtherance of his own non-proliferation agenda.
"So this has created a major hurdle for the legislation to come before the full Senate," the Indian sources lamented. "This is the first thing to be resolved as soon as Congress reconvenes."
Diplomatic and administration sources said they would like to see Title II removed from the nuclear bill. "It is not because India is against this in any way. It has nothing to do with India at all," a senior Indian diplomatic source pointed out. "The problem is this is an unnecessary drag on the legislation, which may prevent it from being taken up on the floor for a vote.
"We (India) have our own problems with the legislation as it is, so why muddy the waters even more?" the source argued.
This has messed with a schedule carefully chalked out by the Bush administration working in concert with the pro-India lobby. The plan was to bring the legislation to the Senate floor for a quick vote; approval, everyone believes, will be by an overwhelming margin.
They then hoped to get the differences between the Senate and House bills resolved quickly in committee; schedule a conference vote before October 10, and get the final legislation to President Bush for his signature before Congress adjourns.
There is a valid reason, they say, for the rush -- if the bill misses the October deadline, Congress will get too preoccupied with the November elections to devote any time to the bill.
This means the legislation will be shelved till a new Congress reconvenes early next year -- and the momentum already built up in its favour will be lost.
"We've been working behind the scenes, strategising, and we've got Indian Americans throughout the summer to touch base with their respective lawmakers in their home states and so on, so that an overwhelming vote like that in the House can be assured," a senior Indian diplomat lamented. "But, of course, if we can't get the legislation on the Senate floor, then all of this would have been of no avail."