The Bush administration scored a key victory in securing congressional support for its historic agreement to allow civil nuclear co-operation with India when the House foreign relations committee voted 37 to five on Tuesday to allow it to proceed with legislation.

The vote came after months of negotiations between administration officials and legislators. The agreement had triggered fears that it could undermine the nuclear non-proliferation pact and had caused discontent that Congress had been side-stepped in the way that Bush officials chose to negotiate the deal with India.