The United States Senate on Thursday afternoon reconvened after more than an hour's recess during which they discussed an amendment by Senator John Ensign, Nevada Republican.

The amendment on additional protocol issue has no relevance to the US-India nuclear deal.

The Senate is now preparing to entertain two other killer amendments to the enabling legislation -- by Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats.

Feingold has served notice that his amendment will seek to ensure that US assistance to India is civilian in nature and not be used to further develop India's nuclear weapons capability, in line with the United States' treaty obligations.

Boxer's amendment would ban any military-to-military contact between India and Iran.

Senator Richard Lugar, co-author of S.3709, the enabling legislation, said both of these amendments would be accorded 90 minutes each for debate.

Meanwhile, according to intelligence provided to rediff.com, the vote on the final bill after the remaining killer amendments are disposed of or accepted -- which the pro-India lobby wishes they won't be -- is expected to be around 2300 EST.

Congressional sources predicted that none of the killer amendments would be accepted and, like the first three killer amendments, would be defeated by more than two-thirds majority.

This is also likely be the margin of the final vote on the enabling legislation.

The sources told rediff.com, that the enabling legislation, co-authored by Lugar and Senator Joe Biden would survive largely unscathed and without any debilitating amendments attached to it, so that the Senate version could be reconciled with the House version when the Senate returns to work after the Thanksgiving holiday recess without too much contention.