WASHINGTON, July 18: Full chambers of the US House of Representatives and Senate will vote on the US-India nuclear deal next week, perhaps as early as Monday, officials said.
The final vote, however, will not end the matter. There are two different bills in the two chambers, and they vary in details. Delegates from both chambers will meet later in a conference to remove differences. The Bush administration has already warned lawmakers that India will not accept any condition outside the July 18 agreement.
The conference — a unique American process where details are worked out with lobbyists and interested parties outside — will be held only after lawmakers return from their August recess. So the final legislation cannot be signed before September.
Both the House and Senate will go into recess after July 28 and will be out of commission in August before returning briefly in September and then retiring for the election in November.
