Washington, D.C.- Only one week after the President agreed to hand over dangerous nuclear technology to India in return for little more than vague assurances and mangoes, White House officials are scrambling to defend their dangerous nuclear agreement.  Today Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman testified in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee responding to questions from Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a co-chair of the House Nuclear Nonproliferation Caucus and an outspoken critic of the nuclear deal.

While the Bush Administration is touting that several of India’s previously un-monitored nuclear reactors will come under some form of safeguards under the deal, they have been minimizing the fact that more than a half dozen reactors will have no safeguards whatsoever – including two “fast-breeder reactors” that are capable of producing fissile material for use in nuclear bombs. 

A rough transcript of some of the Energy Secretary’s responses to Representative Markey is below – full question and answer session can be found in our Markey TV section. (note: the hearing was interrupted briefly by an unauthorized speaker. The interruption has been removed from the video, which can be noticed at the 4:05 mark. Nothing relating to the actual questioning was removed).

REP. MARKEY GRILLS ENERGY SECRETARY BODMAN AT DOE BUDGET HEARING ON INDIA DEAL

Representative Markey: Are you at all troubled by the fact that your Department is touting the fast reactors as a panacea for proliferation at the very moment that India negotiators are cleaning the President’s clock expressly to reserve the plutonium-breeding capacity of their present and future fast breeder reactors for weapons-grade plutonium production
Bodman: No.

Representative Markey: Are their fast breeder reactors going to be part of the safeguards program?
Bodman: No, they are not.

Representative Markey: They can make bomb grade nuclear material in these breeder reactors, which President Bush is not requiring them to place under full-scope safeguards?
Bodman: That is correct.

Representative Markey: Under Section 57b of the Atomic Energy Act, you have the authority to approve nuclear technology transfers – these are so called Part 810 transfers. Since the July 18th Agreements, have you approved any such transfers to India?
Bodman: No.

Representative Markey: Are there any requests for nuclear technologies to India currently pending before the Department of Energy?
Bodman: Not that I’m aware of.