No date fixed for Senate vote on nuclear bill: Senate leader

The enabling legislation was passed by the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 29 by an overwhelming majority.

Senator Frist said he had met with Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-author of the enabling legislation, and requested him to negotiate a package with Senator Joe Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Committee, so that he could schedule a date for the debate and vote on the nuclear agreement

Senators Lugar and Biden will now try and work out a couple of mutually agreed upon amendments, which would enable the vote to take place later this month.

If that does not happen, the debate and vote on the bill may be postponed to the lame-duck session of the Senate held after the US Congressional election in November.

Senator Frist, who spoke to rediff.com after addressing the Indian American Republican Council conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, said he strongly supports the legislation on the nuclear agreement and described it as "absolutely critical and crucial" for cementing ties between Washington and New Delhi.