US House postpones vote on Indo-US nuclear deal

The wait for the Congressional nod to the Indo-US nuclear deal appears to be getting longer as the House of Representatives put off a recorded vote on a legislation on the subject after wrapping up a debate, shortly after a lawmaker in the Senate put a "hold" on consideration of the bill.

The House witnessed a 40-minute debate on the nuclear deal last night and put off the formal vote on the bill till 10 am this morning (1930 hrs IST).

House leaders have also scheduled a session tomorrow starting at 1 pm local time in which they hope to wrap up all business for the 110th Congress before the November 4 presidential polls.

The postponement of the recorded vote in the House after the debate on the nuclear deal was nothing out of the ordinary as voting on some other bills that had been discussed under suspension of the rules has too been put off.

In the case of the Indo-US nuclear deal, it was Congressman Edward Markey of Massachussetts who insisted on a recorded roll call vote, which could be expected around noon local time today.

However, Congressional aides have said that there is no finality to the timing.

In the Senate, an anonymous lawmaker put a "hold" on consideration of the Bill which must be lifted before the agreement is brought to the Senate floor or approved by a Unanimous Consent Agreement.

The latest hiccup in the Senate is actually a counter to the attempt of the leaderships to "hotline" the Senate Bill through Unanimous Consent without debate and vote.