By Arun KumarWashingtonSept. 13: The US Congress has set the ball rolling for fast track approval of the India-US civil nuclear deal with a key Senate panel set to review the implementing 123 agreement next Thursday.America’s third top diplomat, under secretary for political affairs William J. Burns, would be the sole witness at the September 18 hearing of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations called on Friday, just a day after President George Bush asked the Congress to approve the landmark accord.With Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph Biden, who heads the Senate panel, busy campaigning, the meeting would be presided over by fellow Democrat Chris Dodd. Mr Biden, an avid supporter of the India deal, is &ampquot;pleased&ampquot; at the submission of the deal to the Congress and had promised on Thursday that his panel &ampquot;will act promptly to review the agreement in a hearing, as soon as next week.&ampquot;The announcement coupled with gathering support from top Congressional leaders boosted the prospects for the landmark agreement’s approval before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Washington on September 25, though Washington was unwilling to set a target date. US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has hoped &ampquot;that work can be done so that we can take it up&ampquot; by waiving the mandatory 30-day waiting period for the legislation to be taken up.The Senate majority leader Harry Reid too has said he &ampquot;will try to find a way to move it forward&ampquot; this year, but the House Foreign Affairs committee chairman Howard Berman is still holding out.Mr Berman’s support is crucial as it’s the two foreign affairs panel, which have to recommend the deal’s adoption by the full Congress and how to go about it.US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice who has been leading the Bush administration’s efforts to beat the clock has met Ms Pelosi, Mr Reid and Mr Berman besides calling up a number of key legislators to put the approval process on fast track.Mr Berman &ampquot;voted for the Hyde Act and supports civilian nuclear cooperation with India,&ampquot; his spokeswoman Lynne Weil said, referring to the US enabling law adopted in December 2006. But he &ampquot;wants to study&ampquot; the various documents on the nuclear deal submitted by the White House on Wednesday, she said.At the state department spokesman Sean McCormack said: &ampquot;We’d obviously like to move this forward as quickly as it possibly can,&ampquot; when asked if the administration had a target date for Congressional approval of the deal—IANS 
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