Nation: Nuclear Test

The Administration loses

Not since the SALT II debate has the Administration lobbied so vigorously in Congress. Emissaries from Jimmy Carter regularly called on undecided Senators and Representatives. Secretary of State Edmund Muskie made an impassioned plea to his old friends on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to a Senate aide, he said in effect: "I know it's a tough one, but you guys should go along with me on it." Despite these efforts, both the Senate committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week embarrassed Carter by voting to veto his June decision to sell India 38 tons of enriched uranium to fuel the Tarapur nuclear power station near Bombay.

The U.S. helped India build the plant in 1963 and agreed to supply fuel for it. Then, in 1974, New Delhi exploded its first nuclear device, using nuclear material provided by Canada. The test helped spur Congress to pass the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978, which was signed by Carter. It requires that nations using nuclear fuel supplied by the U.S. allow on-site inspections to make certain that waste products are not being reprocessed into weapons-grade plutonium. Despite two years of negotiations with Washington, New Delhi has refused to allow inspections of all its plants.

Administration officials expected to lose the House committee vote but thought that they had a narrow chance in the Senate. Muskie argued at a closed-door hearing that canceling the sale would damage relations with India. Moreover, the Administration noted, New Delhi would be encouraged to reprocess its spent uranium into new fuel, with plutonium as a byproduct.

Ohio Democrat John Glenn, who led the opposition, reminded his colleagues that the U.S. (but not India) is among the 114 countries that signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1968. Said he: "If we don't keep to our agreement, none of the other countries that have signed the treaty will take our policy seriously." The final vote was 8 to 7 against the Administration. When the full Senate and House vote, by Oct. 1, they are expected to side with the committees.

New Delhi greeted the decision calmly. Said a spokesman for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi: "We appreciate the efforts of the President to honor his country's commitments." India now is expected to step up plans to produce all of its own nuclear fuel within four years. Until then, India has enough uranium on hand to keep the Tarapur plant operating at about three-fourths capacity. Editorialized the Hindustan Times: "Americans need to be reminded that their action is not going to stop the Indian nuclear program.''