PREPARED STATEMENT OF REP. EDWARD J. MARKEY (D-MA) ON LANTOS MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES
ON US-INDIA NUCLEAR DEAL
DECEMBER 5, 2006

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion.

When this bill came to the floor in July an amendment I offered would have required the President to certify that India is fully supporting U.S. efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. 

The Harkin Amendment would only require the President to certify that India was abiding by United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iran.  Since those resolutions are already binding under international law, certainly the President could make such a certification for almost any country in the world. 

But now the Bush Administration is objecting to event this modest requirement!  Last week, Secretary Rice wrote to Chairman Hyde and Ranking Member Lantos asking that all of the significant nonproliferation provisions added by the Congress be removed.  She also argued that the provision requiring India to support UN resolutions regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program would be viewed by India as an “additional condition,” and therefore the requirement must be removed.

Apparently, the Bush Administration has entered the nuclear twilight zone! It can go to war in Iraq to disarm imaginary WMD, but then turns to give a huge nuclear gift to India and specifically tells Congress NOT to ask India to stand up to Iran’s WMD programs?  Whose foreign policy is the administration promoting? 

This is a modest suggestion.  I think we actually should be doing more; and I and other House Members have sent a letter to Chairman Hyde and Ranking Member Lantos outlining some of the other critical nuclear nonproliferation provisions that are the minimum requirements that we should be including in this bill.  I hope that they are included in the final conference report.

But we really do need to ensure that India is not able to simultaneously reap the benefits of nuclear cooperation with the U.S. and others, while continuing to support Iran’s efforts to maintain a renegade nuclear program.  I am happy that the House voted for this Motion to Instruct Conferees, because we absolutely must halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.