WASHINGTON, June 21: The United States Congress is expected to begin initial action on the Indo-US nuclear deal from June 27 under pressure from the Bush administration which hopes to have a full vote in the house and Senate by the end of July.

Both chambers of Congress must approve the deal before it is implemented. The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers’ Group also must act but is waiting for Congress to go first.

Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde, meanwhile, plans to introduce his own bill next week, seeking amendments to the draft signed during President George W. Bush’s visit to New Delhi in March. The bill will be considered and voted upon next week.

In the Senate, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, and ranking Democrat Joseph Biden are trying to put together a separate legislation. The Senate committee is expected to take up the proposed legislation on June 28.

The administration wants to have the legislation out of the way by the end of July because that’s when Congress breaks for summer recess until September.

But due to resistance both in and outside Congress, the process has already been delayed by a week and it seems difficult to have a final vote by the end of July.

Critics say the deal would encourage nuclear proliferation.

A 2008 presidential hopeful, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain warned that Congress was unlikely to give final approval to the nuclear deal by the end of the year.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr McCain said Congress needed to scrutinise the deal rigorously because of the precedent it would set. “I am not saying I will oppose it, but I still would like to hear more argument in its favour,” he said. “I understand our unique relationship with India ... but when you carve out an exemption, then of course you run the risk of others wanting the same exemption.”

Some critics argue that the deal will bolster India’s nuclear weapons programme because it will allow New Delhi to import uranium fuel, freeing up its domestic supply for use in its military programme.