Washington, Sept 9 : Senior members of the United States Congress have been contacted by the Bush administration to initiate the process to endorse the 123 Agreement.

US State Department spokesperson McCormack said that senior members of Congress including Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman and Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Joseph Biden have been contacted to endorse the deal.

His comments came after the White House said yesterday that President George W Bush is "hopeful" of being able to push the Indo-US nuclear deal through Congress before his term ends in January next year.

McCormack also said, “The time for the Congress to ratify the deal is short.”

However the Bush administration is committed to trying everything possible to move the 123 Agreement forward, added McCormack.

The Bush administration is working on the Hyde Amendment Package to be submitted to the US Congress.

According to reports chances of the 123 agreement being ratified in time are high due to the bipartisan support for it in the US Congress. (ANI)