Business Hires Lobbyists for Indian Nuclear Deal

The U.S. India Business Counci (UIBC) has 2 hired the lobbying company Patton Boggs to build Congressional support for President George W. Bush's plan to allow nuclear technology sales to India. In a July 2005 agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bush pledged to "adjust U.S. laws and policies" to allow nuclear sales to proceed, even though India is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. India proposes that only 14 of its 22 nuclear power reactors would be open to international inspectors. Potential beneficiaries of the deal include Westinghouse and General Electric, both of which are UIBC members. The plan faces strong opposition from Democratic and Republican members of Congress. O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports that one member of the Patton Boggs team will be "Benjamin Ginsberg, who was national counsel for the Bush-Cheney '04 presidential campaign, and a key player in the 2000 Florida recount."