Earl Blumenauer: “having visited India following the Southeast Asia tsunami, I am more convinced than ever of the benefits of a stronger…”

“having visited India following the Southeast Asia tsunami, I am more convinced than ever of the benefits of a stronger U.S.-India partnership. There is no relationship more important than that between the world's largest democracy, India, and the world's oldest democracy, the United States. I believe that, as the world's largest democracy and a responsible regional power, India deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Support for such an arrangement would have been a sensible centerpiece to a new strategic partnership. However, I am skeptical about elements of the proposed nuclear cooperation agreement between the U.S. and India. I am particularly concerned that this attempt to create an exception to international nonproliferation norms for India may make our efforts in Iran more difficult, or even encourage other countries to make their own exceptions to the rules for assistance to the supposedly civilian nuclear programs of less responsible countries. I am pleased that the legislation crafted by the leadership of our House International Relations Committee minimizes the risks associated with this agreement and provides for close congressional oversight, though I support additional amendments to strengthen it. I do not wish to stand in the way of this legislation's progress and intend to follow developments closely for the up-or-down vote that this bill authorizes.…”