No Inherent Executive Authority Here: Congress Must Approve U.S.-India Nuclear Deal

The U.S. and India have reached a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement by which the U.S. will give India access to civilian nuclear technology and India appears to give international inspectors access to its civilian nuclear facilities. The deal is the centerpiece of President Bush’s current visit to India and, indeed, is an important symbol of future U.S. cooperation with India.

Although the deal seems fairly significant as a foreign policy matter, it will not be submitted to the Senate as a treaty requiring two-thirds approval. Instead, the agreement appears to be an executive agreement that will require congressional approval under Section 2153(c) of Atomic Energy Act. I’m actually a little surprised the President hasn’t claimed some inherent executive authority here. In any case, the domestic legal status of the agreement is even more murky because that section only requires congressional approval if the committee chairmen in Congress determine that such an agreement requires congressional action. Apparently, that will be the case here, in which case President Bush better get this agreement to them soon as the 2006 congressional elections are looming.