WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation and senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee made the following statement in response to reports that President Bush agreed to break several U.S. laws and undermine the world’s most powerful nuclear agreement in order to establish a deal to share nuclear technology with India.

"This nuclear deal has been described as a historic deal – but it is in fact a historic failure of this President to tackle the real nuclear threats that we face.  With one simple move the President has blown a hole in the nuclear rules that the entire world has been playing by and broken his own word to assure that we will not ship nuclear technology to India without the proper safeguards,” said Rep. Markey.  “The ink on this agreement has barely dried and already Pakistan is asking for the very same special treaty that Bush has carved out for India.  The United States has now pushed over a nuclear domino that falls against 187 other nations – all signers of the Nonproliferation Treaty -- to review why they should honor a document which the nuclear superpowers no longer respect. It empowers the hawks in every rogue nation to put their nuclear weapons plans on steroids now that they can no longer be isolated as non-signers of an agreement that has been shredded.

Markey continued, "In a last minute rush to get a nuclear deal with India at any cost, President Bush appears to have caved to Indian demands and compromised U.S. security by blowing a hole in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

"While the full details are not yet available, it appears that the Bush Administration is going to open up nuclear trade with a country which has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which refuses to accept full scope international safeguards over all its nuclear facilities, and which refuses to halt production of fissile materials for nuclear bombs.

"The Bush Administration has failed to come up with a safeguards plan that has any credibility whatsoever -- even as a fig leaf.  It appears that Bush negotiators

• Failed to insist that all of India’s old spent fuel be safeguarded against diversion to weapons – thus approving an arrangement that gives India enough nuclear material to make 1000 nuclear weapons. 
• Failed to get India to agree to halt production of new fissile material for bombs.
• Failed to achieve what they characterized as their top negotiating objective -- getting India to put all its fast breeder reactors under safeguards.
• Allowed possibly two or more heavy water reactors that had previously been considered “civilian” to not be covered by safeguards.

"There is bipartisan opposition to this deal in the Congress, and when the full story is known it will be a bookend to the Dubai port deal – another case of the Bush Administration announcing a commercial deal without due regard for its impact on national security interests.

"I intend to fight this terrible agreement and block any legislation that would alter the restrictions on nuclear trade that are in U.S. law.  At the same time, I believe that the 45 nations who are Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group need to send a strong signal to President Bush and to the U.S. Congress if they do not wish to see the NSG Guidelines destroyed.

Representative Markey has vowed to stop the President’s risky deal when it is sent to Congress.  Rep. Markey and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), introduced a bipartisan resolution H. Con. Res. 318 on December 15, 2005 opposing President Bush’s proposed nuclear cooperation with India.  Current law prohibits the sale of nuclear technology to any country such as India which refuses to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, refuses to allow full-scope safeguards under the treaty, and which develops new nuclear weapons and detonates nuclear tests in defiance of the treaty.

For more information on Rep. Markey’s work to address the proliferation of nuclear weapons or a copy of the Resolution, please visit www.house.gov/markey.

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