Nicholas Burns Congress Quotations

We're prepared for that debate. We will advise the Congress that it is our very clear judgment that this is a good deal for the United States as well as for India.

Our judgement is that it would not be wise or fair to ask Congress to make such a consequential decision without evidence that the Indian government was acting on what is arguably the most important of its commitments--the separation of its civilian and military facilities

Part of the purpose of my visit to Delhi this week is to work with the Indian government on a plan that would separate the civil and military nuclear states of India over the coming years, ... Once that plan has been clearly enunciated and once it has been committed to by the Indian government and we begin to see its implementation, it will be a short time before the U.S. Congress enacts the necessary legislative changes to bring this into being, and that will be a welcome moment, indeed.

We have to respect the prerogatives of Congress but we are suggesting India-specific amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

There is significant support for it on the Capitol Hill. There may be some Congressmen who have doubts about it. But I am convinced that the US Congress will support the agreement,

agreement to a timetable that will lead to decisions in the US Congress to change our law and the ultimate decision of the Indian government to meet their commitments.