Lauding the United States House of Representatives on the passage of legislation providing New Delhi greater access to civilian nuclear technology, US President George W Bush [Images] has said the development of nuclear power in India would benefit America.

"I want to applaud the House of Representatives for passing an important piece of legislation when it comes to
America's relationship with India," Bush said yesterday and urged the Senate to do so as well.

The President said, "It's in the interest of our country that India and China develop nuclear power. In the global energy market, when demand for hydrocarbons goes up it affects gasoline prices. And therefore, the more we can help these countries develop technology, the more we can help them develop a civilian nuclear industry that is safe, the better off it is for American consumers."

Bush said the expansion of the nuclear power industry in the country was one way of staying competetive in the 21st
century.

"We have got to be wise -- we have got to push hard to build new plants. And the energy bill I signed last year is a good step forward. This government is going to spend a lot of money on fast breeder reactor technology," Bush told the National Association of Manufacturers.

"We're going to join other countries to work on fast breeder reactor technology so that we can burn reprocessed fuel which will reduce the waste on civilian nuclear energy. In other words, there's technological gains to be made that will enable us to even advance nuclear power even faster."