[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4138-H4151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HELIUM PRIVATIZATION ACT OF 1996

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3008) to amend the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary to 
enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and 
disposal of helium on Federal lands, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3008

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Helium Privatization Act of 
     1996''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF HELIUM ACT.

       Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this 
     Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 
     amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the 
     reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
     other provision of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167 to 167n).

     SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

       Sections 3, 4, and 5 are amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

       ``(a) Extraction and Disposal of Helium on Federal Lands.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into agreements 
     with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium 
     on Federal lands upon such terms and conditions as the 
     Secretary deems fair, reasonable, and necessary.
       ``(2) Leasehold rights.--The Secretary may grant leasehold 
     rights to any such helium.
       ``(3) Limitation.--The Secretary may not enter into any 
     agreement by which the Secretary sells such helium other than 
     to a private party with whom the Secretary has an agreement 
     for recovery and disposal of helium.
       ``(4) Regulations.--Agreements under paragraph (1) may be 
     subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the 
     Secretary.
       ``(5) Existing rights.--An agreement under paragraph (1) 
     shall be subject to any rights of any affected Federal oil 
     and gas lessee that may be in existence prior to the date of 
     the agreement.
       ``(6) Terms and conditions.--An agreement under paragraph 
     (1) (and any extension or renewal of an agreement) shall 
     contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary may 
     consider appropriate.

[[Page H4139]]

       ``(7) Prior agreements.--This subsection shall not in any 
     manner affect or diminish the rights and obligations of the 
     Secretary and private parties under agreements to dispose of 
     helium produced from Federal lands in existence on the date 
     of enactment of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 except 
     to the extent that such agreements are renewed or extended 
     after that date.
       ``(b) Storage, Transportation and Sale.--The Secretary may 
     store, transport, and sell helium only in accordance with 
     this Act.

     ``SEC. 4. STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND WITHDRAWAL OF CRUDE 
                   HELIUM.

       ``(a) Storage, Transportation and Withdrawal.--The 
     Secretary may store, transport and withdraw crude helium and 
     maintain and operate crude helium storage facilities, in 
     existence on the date of enactment of the Helium 
     Privatization Act of 1996 at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside 
     Field, and related helium transportation and withdrawal 
     facilities.
       ``(b) Cessation of Production, Refining, and Marketing.--
     Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 
     Helium Privatization Act of 1996, the Secretary shall cease 
     producing, refining, and marketing refined helium and shall 
     cease carrying out all other activities relating to helium 
     which the Secretary was authorized to carry out under this 
     Act before the date of enactment of the Helium Privatization 
     Act of 1996, except activities described in subsection (a).
       ``(c) Disposal of Facilities.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (5), not later than 
     24 months after the cessation of activities referred to in 
     subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall designate 
     as excess property and dispose of all facilities, equipment, 
     and other real and personal property, and all interests 
     therein, held by the United States for the purpose of 
     producing, refining and marketing refined helium.
       ``(2) Applicable law.--The disposal of such property shall 
     be in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative 
     Services Act of 1949.
       ``(3) Proceeds.--All proceeds accruing to the United States 
     by reason of the sale or other disposal of such property 
     shall be treated as moneys received under this chapter for 
     purposes of section 6(f).
       ``(4) Costs.--All costs associated with such sale and 
     disposal (including costs associated with termination of 
     personnel) and with the cessation of activities under 
     subsection (b) shall be paid from amounts available in the 
     helium production fund established under section 6(f).
       ``(5) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
     facilities, equipment, or other real or personal property, or 
     any interest therein, necessary for the storage, 
     transportation and withdrawal of crude helium or any 
     equipment, facilities, or other real or personal property, 
     required to maintain the purity, quality control, and quality 
     assurance of crude helium in the Bureau of Mines Cliffside 
     Field.
       ``(d) Existing Contracts.--
       ``(1) In general.--All contracts that were entered into by 
     any person with the Secretary for the purchase by the person 
     from the Secretary of refined helium and that are in effect 
     on the date of the enactment of the Helium Privatization Act 
     of 1996 shall remain in force and effect until the date on 
     which the refining operations cease, as described in 
     subsection (b).
       ``(2) Costs.--Any costs associated with the termination of 
     contracts described in paragraph (1) shall be paid from the 
     helium production fund established under section 6(f).

     ``SEC. 5. FEES FOR STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND WITHDRAWAL.

       ``(a) In General.--Whenever the Secretary provides helium 
     storage withdrawal or transportation services to any person, 
     the Secretary shall impose a fee on the person to reimburse 
     the Secretary for the full costs of providing such storage, 
     transportation, and withdrawal.
       ``(b) Treatment.--All fees received by the Secretary under 
     subsection (a) shall be treated as moneys received under this 
     Act for purposes of section 6(f).''.

     SEC. 4. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM.

       (a) Subsection 6(a) is amended by striking ``from the 
     Secretary'' and inserting ``from persons who have entered 
     into enforceable contracts to purchase an equivalent amount 
     of crude helium from the Secretary''.
       (b) Subsection 6(b) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``crude'' before ``helium''; and
       (2) by adding the following at the end: ``Except as may be 
     required by reason of subsection (a), sales of crude helium 
     under this section shall be in amounts as the Secretary 
     determines, in consultation with the helium industry, 
     necessary to carry out this subsection with minimum market 
     disruption.''.
       (c) Subsection 6(c) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``crude'' after ``Sales of''; and
       (2) by striking ``together with interest as provided in 
     this subsection'' and all that follows through the end of the 
     subsection and inserting ``all funds required to be repaid to 
     the United States as of October 1, 1995 under this section 
     (referred to in this subsection as `repayable amounts'). The 
     price at which crude helium is sold by the Secretary shall 
     not be less than the amount determined by the Secretary by--
       ``(1) dividing the outstanding amount of such repayable 
     amounts by the volume (in million cubic feet) of crude helium 
     owned by the United States and stored in the Bureau of Mines 
     Cliffside Field at the time of the sale concerned, and
       ``(2) adjusting the amount determined under paragraph (1) 
     by the Consumer Price Index for years beginning after 
     December 31, 1995.''.
       (d) Subsection 6(d) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(d) Extraction of Helium From Deposits on Federal 
     Lands.--All moneys received by the Secretary from the sale or 
     disposition of helium on Federal lands shall be paid to the 
     Treasury and credited against the amounts required to be 
     repaid to the Treasury under subsection (c).''.
       (e) Subsection 6(e) is repealed.
       (f) Subsection 6(f) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(f)'' and inserting ``(e)(1)''; and
       (2) by adding the following at the end:
       ``(2)(A) Within 7 days after the commencement of each 
     fiscal year after the disposal of the facilities referred to 
     in section 4(c), all amounts in such fund in excess of 
     $2,000,000 (or such lesser sum as the Secretary deems 
     necessary to carry out this Act during such fiscal year) 
     shall be paid to the Treasury and credited as provided in 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(B) On repayment of all amounts referred to in subsection 
     (c), the fund established under this section shall be 
     terminated and all moneys received under this Act shall be 
     deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.''.

     SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

       Section 8 is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

       ``(a) Stockpile Sales.--
       ``(1) Commencement.--Not later than January 1, 2005, the 
     Secretary shall commence offering for sale crude helium from 
     helium reserves owned by the United States in such amounts as 
     would be necessary to dispose of all such helium reserves in 
     excess of 600,000,000 cubic feet on a straight-line basis 
     between such date and January 1, 2015.
       ``(2) Times of sale.--The sales shall be at such times 
     during each year and in such lots as the Secretary 
     determines, in consultation with the helium industry, to be 
     necessary to carry out this subsection with minimum market 
     disruption.
       ``(3) Price.--The price for all sales under paragraph (1), 
     as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the 
     helium industry, shall be such price as will ensure repayment 
     of the amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under 
     section 6(c).
       ``(b) Discovery of Additional Reserves.--The discovery of 
     additional helium reserves shall not affect the duty of the 
     Secretary to make sales of helium under subsection (a).''.

     SEC. 6. REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO BORROW.

       Sections 12 and 15 are repealed.

     SEC. 7. LAND CONVEYANCE IN POTTER COUNTY, TEXAS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     transfer all right, title, and interest of the United States 
     in and to the parcel of land described in subsection (b) to 
     the Texas Plains Girl Scout Council for consideration of $1, 
     reserving to the United States such easements as may be 
     necessary for pipeline rights-of-way.
       (b) Land Description.--The parcel of land referred to in 
     subsection (a) is all those certain lots, tracts or parcels 
     of land lying and being situated in the County of Potter and 
     State of Texas, and being the East Three Hundred Thirty-One 
     (E331) acres out of Section Seventy-eight (78) in Block Nine 
     (9), B.S. & F. Survey, (some times known as the G.D. Landis 
     pasture) Potter County, Texas, located by certificate No. 1/
     39 and evidenced by letters patents Nos. 411 and 412 issued 
     by the State of Texas under date of November 23, 1937, and of 
     record in Vol. 66A of the Patent Records of the State of 
     Texas. The metes and bounds description of such lands is as 
     follows:
       (1) First tract.--One Hundred Seventy-one (171) acres of 
     land known as the North part of the East part of said survey 
     Seventy-eight (78) aforesaid, described by metes and bounds 
     as follows:
       Beginning at a stone 20 x 12 x 3 inches marked X, set by 
     W.D. Twichell in 1905, for the Northeast corner of this 
     survey and the Northwest corner of Section 59;
       Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East with the West line 
     of said Section 59, 999.4 varas to the Northeast corner of 
     the South 160 acres of East half of Section 78;
       Thence, North 89 degrees 47 minutes West with the North 
     line of the South 150 acres of the East half, 956.8 varas to 
     a point in the East line of the West half Section 78;
       Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes West with the East line 
     of the West half 999.4 varas to a stone 18 x 14 x 3 inches in 
     the middle of the South line of Section 79;
       Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965 varas to the 
     place of beginning.
       (2) Second tract.--One Hundred Sixty (160) acres of land 
     known as the South part of the East part of said survey No. 
     Seventy-eight (78) described by metes and bounds as follows:
       Beginning at the Southwest corner of Section 59, a stone 
     marked X and a pile of stones; Thence, North 89 degrees 47 
     minutes West with the North line of Section 77, 966.5 varas 
     to the Southeast corner of the West half of Section 78; 
     Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes West with the East line of 
     the West half of Section 78;
       Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965.8 varas to a 
     point in the East line of Section 78;
       Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East 934.6 varas to the 
     place of beginning.
       Containing an area of 331 acres, more or less.


[[Page H4140]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado [Mr. Allard] and the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] 
will each be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Allard].
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. ALLARD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3008. This 
legislation demonstrates our commitment to put an end to bloated 
Government programs by shutting down an inefficient facility which has 
outlived its need and can't compete with the private sector. I thank my 
good friend and colleague, Mr. Cox, for his tireless efforts to bring 
this important bill to the floor. To assure the fiscal responsibility 
for this closure, this legislation repeals the Secretary of the 
Interior's authority to borrow under the Helium Act and requires the 
Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, and 
transportation services.
  Specifically this bill will:
  Get the Federal Government out of the helium business, including sale 
of the stockpile, and shut down an inefficient helium refinery. Within 
18 months, this bill will terminate the helium refining and marketing 
operations of the former U.S. Bureau of Mines at the Excell plant and 
the Amarillo plant. Additionally, all proceeds from the sale of these 
facilities and equipment will be returned to the Treasury. These funds 
will be applied toward reduction of the debt the Federal Government has 
incurred by purchasing crude helium for storage and refining since 
1960.
  Second, this bill ensures repayment of this debt. The total helium 
program debt shall be frozen at the current amount, which is 
approximately $1.4 billion. Future sales from the crude helium 
stockpile must be sold at a price determined by dividing this debt by 
the approximately 32 billion cubic feet of helium currently stored in 
the Cliffside Field. That value will be the minimum bid per thousand 
cubic feet for crude helium that the private distributors must pay to 
access this supply. Revenue received from the private sector as the 
result of crude helium sales will be returned to the Treasury to 
complete debt repayment.
  And finally, this legislation protects our domestic helium industry 
from undue disruption by the Federal Government. By recognizing the 
current market surplus, the bill allows flexibility in commencement of 
the sale of the stockpile, so as to minimize market disruption. Sales 
may begin as late as 2005 but the bill requires that the stockpile be 
eliminated by 2015. Coincidentally, this is when many experts believe 
the current surplus of helium may no longer exist. Thus the Federal 
Government should receive a higher price for the commodity than the 
minimum established floor bid.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise with regrets, acknowledging H.R. 
3008, a bill to close the Federal helium program, will pass today. In 
these days of downsizing, it seems the time has come to terminate 
programs which appear to have outlived their usefulness like the 
Federal helium program.
  I want to note that I say appear, Mr. Speaker. Since 1925, when the 
Defense Department believed that dirigibles or blimps would be an 
integral part of our national defense, the Federal Government has 
managed a helium program. Today the Federal helium program continues to 
serve the needs of major Federal users of helium such as NASA and DOE 
laboratories, who are required to purchase helium from the Bureau of 
Mines.
  The Federal Government got involved in helium production at a time 
when there was no private helium production. Today, however, the 
private sector manufactures 90 percent of the world's helium. For this 
reason groups such as the National Taxpayers Union, the ``20/20'' TV 
program, the Interior Department inspector general, and the Heritage 
Foundation, an unlikely conglomeration, have called for its 
elimination.
  H.R. 3008, like its predecessor, H.R. 3967 in the 103d Congress, 
enjoys bipartisan support. While I did not support termination of the 
program, I recognize after several years of consideration Congress is 
poised to resolve the question of the helium program by terminating it. 
But I remain concerned that we have not done enough to aid the 200-plus 
employees in Amarillo, TX, who will lose their livelihood as 
consequence of our decision.
  The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to sell off all the 
equipment, real property, refining facilities, and gradually sell off 
most of the crude helium currently stored in Amarillo, TX. Funds from 
the sale will be deposited in a helium fund established under the 1960 
act, and will be available for various termination activities, 
including some employee benefits already authorized under law. 
Eventually the fund will be applied against the debt to reduce the 
deficit. This is, in any event, the hope.
  During the committee consideration of this bill, I offered an 
amendment to provide employee benefits in addition to those authorized 
under existing law so that the 200-plus employees in Amarillo, many of 
whom have built their careers on this program, would get the same kind 
of additional education and job placement assistance that we gave 
defense employees working at bases that were closed. These are people, 
Mr. Speaker, men and women, who through no fault of their own find 
themselves working for a Federal program targeted for downsizing and in 
fact elimination.
  My amendment would have given these people help in addition to what 
the Secretary has already authorized to provide, the same kind of help 
that we have provided, as I indicated, to many of the defense employees 
working at military bases scheduled for closure: job placement 
assistance, extended life and health insurance coverage, and the option 
to take an early retirement without penalty.
  Sadly, my Republican colleagues on the committee could not be 
persuaded to provide this type of much-needed aid. During committee 
debate, my friend and colleague from California [Mr. Calvert] argued 
that the Secretary already has the authority to provide these benefits. 
This is simply incorrect, Mr. Speaker.
  My amendment would have added authority necessary to enable the 
Secretary to extend health and life insurance coverage for 3 years 
beyond an employee's termination. The Secretary does not have the 
ability to provide this assistance under current law. My amendment 
would have allowed Federal helium employees access to the enhanced 
early retirement option, and current law does not provide for this 
protection. My amendment would have given Federal helium employees 
hiring preference Government-wide, not just in the Amarillo area as is 
provided under existing law.
  So, Mr. Speaker, my amendment failed. Even though I agreed with my 
good friend and colleague from Texas [Mr. Thornberry] that we did not 
need to terminate this program, I, and I believe he, could see that 
this bill would pass. So I tried to lessen the blow so that the helium 
workers might be able to find another Federal job, or if they served 20 
years, they could take an early out and retire from civil service.
  As of now, this is not to be, Mr. Speaker. These activities would 
have been paid from the existing helium account and would have cost 
relatively pennies, especially in comparison to the costs of 
unemployment benefits. The Congressional Budget Office said that my 
amendment would have had no budgetary effect.
  It seemed only fair to offer this assistance to the innocent victims 
of our downsizing zeal, so that the employees who had nothing to do 
with the difficulties facing the program would not be left stranded by 
their Government. But my Republican colleagues could not see their way 
clear to help their fellow public servants in this instance, and so 
today I expect we will pass H.R. 3008 under suspension of the rules so 
we can praise ourselves for making Government smaller.
  We could have done so, Mr. Speaker, in a much more humane and 
compassionate manner. I will ask the other

[[Page H4141]]

body to consider my amendment before we conclude the legislative 
process. Loyal workers in the helium program deserve no less.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert] and ask unanimous consent that 
he be permitted to control that time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clinger). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert] 
will be recognized for 17 minutes, the balance of the time.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin [Mr. Klug].
  Mr. KLUG. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for his 
work on this legislation, and my other colleague from California [Mr. 
Cox], and also the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank], for their 
work on this legislation for years. In a way it is kind of a shame to 
see this program come to an end because it takes away one of the great 
punch lines when talking about the Federal Government, because the 
national helium reserve has really been a laughingstock, I think, for 
several decades.
  Looking all the way back to the early 1930's, the Federal Government 
got involved and continues to be involved in the operation of 
hydroelectric facilities, and I have to ask my constituents at home 
whether they think the Federal Government should be producing, 
marketing, and selling electric power these days, and they say no.
  We continue to run and operate, believe it or not, a series of oil 
fields scattered around this country from California to Wyoming to 
Colorado, although it is with some hope in the budget agreement we just 
passed last week that we will be selling off, finally, some of those 
oil fields that have literally existed since the days that Teddy 
Roosevelt was President in order to guarantee the fact that our naval 
fleet would have an adequate supply of petroleum.
  And here we are arguing, 70 years later, whether or not we need a 
helium reserve in order to do dirigible research in the United States. 
This is absolutely absurd. The private sector is capable of producing, 
marketing, and selling helium as it has been for the last several 
decades, and this is a project at this point, frankly, where we have 
run up about $40 million a year in losses on this program and we have 
an accumulated debt of nearly $1.5 billion.
  This legislation in front of us today has both bipartisan support 
here in Congress and also is supported by the White House. It is 
supported by a number of taxpayer groups, including Citizens Against 
Government Waste and the National Taxpayers Union.
  The reality today is that in 1996 it is clear that blimps have 
absolutely nothing to do with national security. They may have to do 
with some intriguing shots at the halftime of a Monday night football 
game, but I think they manage to do that without support from the 
Federal Government. The taxpayers, frankly, now are left with almost a 
$1.5 billion debt to pay off the cost of a reserve that has not really 
had any strategic interest for the last 70 years. Obviously, as well, 
there is an adequate supply of helium in the private sector.
  I finally urge my colleagues to vote for this measure and thank the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert] and the rest of my colleagues 
for killing a program that frankly should have been killed 50 years 
ago.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, with the Chair's permission, I yield 
such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Frank].
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I thank my friend and I would say I 
admire him, but in the future I think when he is yielding to someone he 
better not ask their permission, because if they think they could deny 
it, they might.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman, I know.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I thank the ranking member for yielding 
me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to add my words in support of this bill. It is a 
lot easier, it turns out, for the Members on both sides of the House, 
Democratic and Republican and across the ideological spectrum, to 
abolish a program in principle than to abolish it in fact. We hear a 
great deal of talk about abolition but when we get to abolishing any 
specific program, it will have liberal and conservative defenders, it 
will have Democratic and Republican defenders.
  This is one where we also fortunately have a bipartisan coalition for 
the abolition. The time has come, clearly, to abolish it. If we cannot 
at this point dispense with the helium reserve, the purpose of which is 
no longer valid, then we cannot undo anything.
  Members who represent the area where it is involved, and they will be 
legitimately representing their interests, they will raise some 
objections. It is true that it would be a lot cleaner to do this if we 
never had a helium reserve in the first place. It is true that 
solutions to problems cannot be qualitatively more elegant than the 
problems themselves. When we have an entity, we have always some 
details to decide when we abolish it.
  Nonetheless, abolition is clearly the sensible way to go, and I think 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox], who has done so much work on 
this, has quite sensibly dealt with those problems. This is as 
reasonable an approach as we can get, with just one exception.
  I heard the gentleman from Hawaii absolutely correctly pointing out 
that there are some innocent victims in this, and those are the people 
who went to work for the Government in the helium reserve. I agree with 
him completely, that they should be held harmless as much as possible. 
The package of proposals he outlined, especially since as he pointed 
out they have no budgetary impact, are entirely reasonable.
  So I would join my friend from Hawaii in appealing to the Senate, 
when this bill goes to them, to add that kind of an amendment. In fact, 
as a cosponsor of the bill and as a supporter, I will join with him in 
urging them to act on that once we have done this.
  I say that is important not just in this instance, but it is 
important if we are to go ahead with the kind of changes we ought to 
make. We have to show that we can economize with some compassion, that 
we can economize taking a longer look, but that we are not going to 
make hardworking individuals who did not make the particular policy 
choices bear an undue share of the burden. To the extent that we can 
give them equity while we go forward, I think we ought to. So 
therefore, as I said, I join the gentleman's amendment, and with that I 
also strongly support this legislation.

  The gentleman from California [Mr. Cox], who began calling the 
attention of this body to this, has as I said done a very good job of 
saying, look, we have this outdated program, a program which it does 
not make sense for the Federal Government to be involved in. One test 
we always have here is, if we were in fact starting a government today, 
would somebody come forward and say, ``Hey, I know what we need, we 
need an army, a navy, an air force, a Justice Department, a Treasury 
Department, and the helium reserve.'' I do not think that a helium 
reserve would make anybody's list of the things a government ought to 
be doing right now.
  The question, then, is how do we phase it out sensibly? The gentleman 
from California's legislation does that. So I hope we pass this today, 
and I hope we can then persuade the Senate to take advantage of their 
greater rules flexibility, add the amendment the gentleman from Hawaii 
talked about, and send the whole thing to the President.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Florida [Mr. Goss].
  (Mr. GOSS and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from 
California, and I commend him for his efforts to terminate the national 
helium reserve and provide some relief for the American taxpayer. I 
think the American taxpayers will be very happy to receive the news.
  I also want to congratulate my friend from California, Mr. Cox, who 
has talked many years about this with me. I think that as a classmate 
of mine I

[[Page H4142]]

am very proud of his efforts in this as well. This is a long overdue 
action that I have included in my own annual list of spending cuts for 
4 years running as an unjustifiable expense at the Government's level. 
It demonstrates that slowly but surely we are making progress in 
downsizing Government in this town despite resistance.

                              {time}  1515

  As this bill goes through the suspension process today with the 
support of almost all taxpayer watchdog organizations, we have got to 
ask a question: How did it take this long to get rid of this turkey? 
This is a fair question, especially given the fact that this idea was 
included in the Vice President's own reinventing Government plan.
  Well, the answer it turns out is easy. Preservation of the program 
was used as a bargaining chip in 1993 by the White House, the Clinton 
White House, to ensure passage of the Clinton tax hike. You remember 
the tax hike, the biggest one in history, the one that Americans are 
feeling at the gas pumps today?
  Well, under this deal, the taxpayer lost twice, with $250 billion in 
new taxes and through the continuation of this Federal boondoggle. 
Liberal Democrats got two bites, taxpayers got two hits. No more 
excuses, no more deals, it is time to end the Federal involvement in 
helium and get our fiscal house in order.
  This was a national security issue. It is no longer. And it cannot be 
justified as a jobs program either. It needs to be put to rest.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes, to say 
that the discussion in committee, at least with respect to the 
gentleman from Florida's last comments, was not about whether this was 
a jobs program. The question is whether the jobs that were being done 
could be dealt with in a manner consonant with the closure of this 
program that would do justice to our sense of compassion and 
understanding of the impact that it would have on those people who are 
now working.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I did not want to put words in the mouth of 
the gentleman from Hawaii. What I heard him say, I thought, was that we 
need to deal with the job dislocation in this matter. I think that is a 
fine sentiment. We have something called private enterprise in this 
country and opportunity that seems to work very well.
  I would like to know if the gentleman wants to supplement that with 
some additional subsidy from the taxpayers for these workers, which is 
what I thought the intent of the gentleman's remarks were.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, if the gentleman 
was a bit more familiar with the fund that finances the helium project 
as it is presently undertaken, I think that that would not be a 
question.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Cremeans] who has been very helpful in this legislation.
  Mr. CREMEANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3008, 
legislation to end the Federal Government's involvement in the helium 
business. Just as this Congress has done for the last 16 months, H.R. 
3008 is another example of streamling Government and making it work for 
the taxpayers. I would like to thank Mr. Cox, the sponsor of this bill, 
for his hard work and dedication in bringing the bill to the floor.
  Since my election to Congress, a top priority of mine has been to 
shrink the Federal bureaucracy and make it work more effectively for 
the taxpayer. Cutting waste and unnecessary Government programs, such 
as the helium project, must be done if we are to balance the budget. 
That is why, last year I introduced H.R. 846, my own bill to end the 
Government Helium Program. I am pleased that this nearly identical bill 
has come before us for a vote today.
  Getting Government out of the helium business makes sense for several 
reasons. First, it is responsible to taxpayers. In 1995 alone, 
increased debt on the helium program was about $38 million. This bill 
freezes the total program debt at the current amount, approximately 
$1.4 billion, and allows for the sale of the helium stockpile to the 
private sector.
  In addition to being fiscally responsible, the bill also protects the 
private domestic helium market from disruption caused by selling the 
Government stockpile. Sales of the stockpile need not being for another 
decade, thereby ensuring time to absorb the helium into the market. 
This will help protect private domestic helium production jobs from any 
potential adverse effect of the sale.
  Mr. Speaker, the Federal Helium Program's time has passed. The days 
of the Government, using taxpayer dollars, to compete against the 
private sector are over. It's time to stop producing a product we can 
buy cheaper from American companies. Selling off the Government reserve 
and returning the money to the Treasury is the right thing for the 
taxpayers and the domestic helium industry. This bill is long overdue.
  I strongly support the legislation and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Thornberry].
  (Mr. THORNBERRY asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks and to include extraneous material.)
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding me 
time, and I appreciate my subcommittee chairman's tolerance of hearing 
my views on this issue. I certainly appreciate the ranking member 
working with us on this issue as well. He is certainly one Member of 
this body that is willing to question and to look beyond maybe his 
preconceived ideas and has worked to make this bill a better bill. I 
certainly appreciate his efforts in that regard.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a legitimate question about whether the Federal 
Government ought to be in the helium business or not. I think we are 
beyond that. I think that this body has decided the Federal Government 
will get out of the helium business. But just to show my colleagues 
that it is not a completely one-sided issue, I will insert a couple of 
articles, one from the New York Times, one from the Washington Post, 
talking about the importance of this strategic material to defense, to 
our space program, to medical research, and the rest.
  But I want to go beyond that. The decision has been made to get the 
Federal Government out of the helium business, so we ought to do it in 
the best way possible. I am going to vote no on this bill today because 
I think one of the key flaws in this bill is that it prevents the 
Federal helium assets from being privatized.
  Now, the text of the bill says that it is OK, it will be put up for 
sale and somebody can buy this stuff. But as a practical matter, the 
formula in the bill makes it economically impossible for any company, 
whether it is an individual in Amarillo, TX or Exxon, from buying any 
of the helium that is stored in the ground. The formula in this bill 
has the price of helium about 25 to 48 percent above the current market 
price. Now, if somebody wants to spend that much more, they can do it. 
But I suggest that there is nobody who will do that.
  So what we have are some folks in my district who might be interested 
in buying the refinery and buying some of the helium and competing in 
the market, who are essentially shut out from doing that because the 
formula is skewed to prevent somebody from doing it.
  I have other constituents interested in buying some of the helium and 
building perhaps even a new refinery and to refine some of the natural 
gas out of it. They are shut out because of this formula.
  So as we move to the other body, I suggest that one of the key 
improvements that must be made in this bill is looking at the formula 
by which the Government sells the helium that is in the ground.
  As a matter of fact, not only does this prevent us from privatizing 
the operations, as we are doing in so many other cases in this body; it 
also prevents us from accruing the real savings that are being 
advertised by this bill. One of the projections by OMB showed that at 
least $43.9 million of the saving

[[Page H4143]]

accrued by this bill would come as a result of the sale of helium that 
is in the stockpile and in the ground.
  If it is priced 25 to 48 percent above the market, not only can it 
not be privatized, the taxpayers will not see the benefit of that $44 
million that they are supposed to get, because it is priced far above 
where it should be.
  In committee I offered a substitute that was very much closer to the 
administration's plan to end the helium program. It would have provided 
that the Secretary could sell some of the helium at market price within 
his discretion so there is not a disruption in the market. But I think 
it would make far more sense to do so that way. It would enable some of 
the helium workers to perhaps even get a job at a new privatized helium 
plant. Yet this bill prevents that from happening.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not know, this has been around so long, I am not 
sure if we are really interested in doing this thing the right way for 
the right reasons. It is an easy program to make fun of. It is an 
essential program in many ways. But I suggest that if we are going to 
do it the right way and if we are going to do the right thing by the 
workers and by the country, then major revisions need to take place in 
this bill with a formula, as well as the way the workers are treated. 
We all ought to strive to not just make the Government smaller, but 
smarter. In that effort I will be voting no on this bill today.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the articles referred to.

               [From the Washington Post, Dec. 18, 1995]

                  U.S. Helium Reserve Finds a Champion

                            (By Curt Suplee)

       The venerable National Helium Reserve--32 billion cubic 
     feet of the stuff, stored beneath the Texas Panhandle--has 
     become the federal government equivalent of laughing gas. 
     Marked for extinction in the Republican budget plan, the 70-
     year-old stockpile program has been travestied on Capitol 
     Hill and in the news media as ``a symbol for obsolete federal 
     ventures,'' ``the government-waste poster child'' and 
     ``amazingly stupid even by government standards.''
       But to many scientists, it's no laughing matter. Earth's 
     tiny supply of helium is ``finite and irreplaceable,'' the 
     American Physical Society (APS) warns in a strongly worded 
     new statement, and doing away with it could prompt a national 
     catastrophe. When present reserves are exhausted, the world's 
     leading organization of physicists argues, there will be no 
     economically feasible way to replace them.
       That might not matter much if helium were used only for 
     levitating blimps or filling birthday balloons. But it has 
     become one of the most important materials in modern science. 
     The physicists are worried that if it's left up to private 
     industry to extract it from natural gas (the main source), 
     much of the nation's helium simply will go up in smoke.
       Liquid helium has the lowest boiling point of any substance 
     and is essential to the production of practical 
     superconductors--materials that have no resistance to 
     electricity--and devices that rely on them. That includes a 
     wide range of cutting-edge technologies such as medical MRI 
     scanners, ultra-sensitive diagnostic detectors, weapon-
     guidance and astronomical systems, particle accelerators, 
     magnetically levitated trains and resistance-free power 
     lines.
       Moreover, helium is as close to chemically inert as 
     elements get and thus is crucial to operations in which 
     chemical reactions could be destructive, including 
     pressurizing space shuttle tanks (NASA is NHR's biggest 
     customer), welding such reactive metals as aluminum and 
     forming delicate silicon crystals.
       Yet there is strong bipartisan support for selling off the 
     federal reserves--housed in underground facilities near 
     Amarillo, Tex.--on the private market over the next 20 years 
     to raise an estimated $1 billion or more for the treasury.
       In his last State of the Union address, President Clinton 
     cited the National Helium Reserve as one of ``over 100 
     programs we do not need.'' The Republican budget 
     reconciliation bill vetoed by Clinton earlier this month 
     called for a shutdown of the NHR's helium-extraction 
     activities (which make up about 10 percent of U.S. 
     production) and gradual sale of its inventory between 2005 
     and 2015. The revised balanced-budget plan Republicans are 
     proposing contains the same provisions.
       That leaves the program, which originated in 1925 to ensure 
     ample gas supplies for ``national security'' uses such as 
     dirigible inflation, with no visible means of support--except 
     for the physicists, who have taken their case to the Office 
     of Science and Technology Policy in hopes of emphasizing that 
     helium is not a renewable resource.
       The only commercially viable source is natural gas, some 
     deposits of which contain as much as 0.3 percent helium. Such 
     ``helium-rich'' fields exist only in the United States and, 
     to a minor extent, in Canada. If helium is not extracted from 
     the fuel before the gas is burned, it disappears 
     irretrievably into the atmosphere. Some 3.2 billion cubic 
     feet per year--approximately the same amount that is 
     commercially extracted--is lost this way, the APS estimates.
       (Theoretically, helium could be recaptured from the air, 
     where it makes up about five ten-thousandths of 1 percent by 
     volume. But the cost would be astronomical. Recovering even 
     3.2 billion cubic feet--about one year's domestic 
     production--would require 5 percent of the annual U.S. energy 
     consumption, according to the APS analysis.)
       There are only a couple of deposits in the United States 
     that are particularly rich in helium, said Charlotte LeGates, 
     a spokeswoman for the Natural Gas Supply Association, who 
     estimates that those resources probably will be exhausted 
     ``60 or 70 years from now.'' But that situation she said, has 
     nothing to do with whether the federal government remains in 
     the helium business or not. She said the current budget 
     legislation simply aims ``to turn government stockpiling--
     which is sort of nonsense--into an orderly private market.''
       A spokesman for Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), who 
     introduced the National Helium Privatization Act of 1995 that 
     both houses of Congress incorporated into the budget bill, 
     agreed. ``The private sector is well situated to fill the 
     need,'' said Vincent Sollitto. ``We are extremely confident 
     that there's going to be plenty of helium in this country.''
       This is plausible in view of the fact that demand for U.S.-
     produced helium has nearly doubled since 1985, according to 
     the Department of Interior.
       But the APS is skeptical. The physicists are not opposed to 
     privatization of the NHR. ``It will little matter to future 
     generations whether the helium they use was extracted and 
     stored by the government or by private industry,'' said APS 
     spokesman Robert Park of the University of Maryland. ``But it 
     cannot be assumed that private industry, motivated by short-
     term profits, will decide to extract more helium than there 
     is an immediate market for. Any helium that is not extracted 
     will be lost forever as the natural gas is burned. Some 
     incentive or requirement to store it must be in place.''
       For years, that incentive was the Helium Act of 1960, in 
     which Congress authorized the NHR--operated by the Interior 
     Department's Bureau of Mines--to make purchases of the gas 
     and store it. The government is uniquely positioned to do so, 
     because 64.2 percent of ``helium-rich'' gas resources are on 
     federal land, according to the Bureau of Mines. The purchases 
     were halted in 1973, and the size of the reserve has changed 
     little since then.
       The program's financial situation, however, has changed 
     drastically. Because it was launched with a congressionally 
     mandated $252 million loan from the Treasury and has paid 
     back little of its debt, the National Helium Reserve ``owes'' 
     the federal government about $1.4 billion, most of which is 
     compound interest accrued in the past 35 years. It is this 
     obligation that the sale of the reserves is intended to pay 
     off. And it is this ostensible debt that Cox spoke of in 
     October when he said that the NHR is ``continuing to lose 
     tens of millions of dollars a year.''
       The APS disputes the logic of such reasoning. ``From the 
     viewpoint of the U.S. government's net worth,'' the group's 
     statement says, ``regarding this $1.4 billion as a `debt' . . 
     . is purely illusory. . . . Any transfer of funds from one 
     government agency to another neither reduces the Treasury's 
     national debt nor increases the budget deficit by a single 
     penny.''
       Besides, said Park of the APS, if money is the principal 
     issue, helium is likely to appreciate in value at least as 
     much as any other government-held asset over the next few 
     decades. ``It's a good investment over the long term,'' he 
     said. ``It makes far more sense than storing gold at Fort 
     Knox.''
                                                                    ____


                [From the New York Times, Feb. 6, 1996]

   Helium Will Not Fill the Demands of the Future, Physicists Caution

                         (By Malcolm W. Browne)

       In the century since it was discovered as a trace 
     ingredient of the uranium mineral clevite, helium, the second 
     lightest of all elements, has become indispensable to science 
     and technology. Scientists believe it could play a vital role 
     in helping the world through future energy shortages.
       But as Congress and the White House move to end Government 
     participation in helium conservation, the American Physical 
     Society, a professional society of physicists, warns that the 
     most economically exploited source of this nonrenewable 
     substance will be depleted in 21 years unless steps are taken 
     to halt a growing helium hemorrhage.
       THe society calculates that although American producers 
     recover about 3.3 billion cubic feet of helium from natural 
     gas each year, another 3.2 billion cubic feet are thrown away 
     because gas companies lack financial incentives to separate, 
     refine and store it. The Federal Government operates a 
     combined stockpile, and buffer stock, into which commercial 
     producers deposit helium when demand is low, for later 
     withdrawal if necessary. Critics contend that Government 
     involvement is unnecessary and interferes with the market's 
     ability to match supply with demand.
       A world shortage of helium a generation from now could 
     obstruct the development of superconducting power lines, 
     motors, generators, electricity storage systems, magnetically 
     levltated trains and many applications not yet even imagined, 
     the American Physical Society says. Helium is not only 
     irreplaceable; It can also do things that no other substance 
     can even approximate.

[[Page H4144]]

       Helium is commercially recovered from certain natural gas 
     reservoirs, mainly in the United States. Because it is a 
     noninflammable gas with nearly as much lifting power as 
     inflammable hydrogen, it was prized by airship builders and 
     users following World War I, a conflict in which hydrogen-
     filled Zepplin bombers had proved to be deathtraps. After the 
     war, the United States banned the export of helium to deprive 
     potential enemies of fire-resistant airships, and later 
     created a strategic helium stockpile, a reserve that now 
     contains 32 billion cubic feet.
       But dirigible airships are no longer regarded as 
     strategically important weapons and, in any case, many 
     lawmakers opposes the continued maintenance of any Federal 
     stockpiles. One of the present targets of Congress is the 
     national helium stockpile, as well as Federal participation 
     in the extraction of the gas.
       In December, the American Physical Society deplored the 
     projected liquidation of Government helium reserves and 
     reported that 3.2 billion cubic feet of helium are being 
     dumped into the atmosphere each year and are forever lost. 
     Unless the Government creates economic incentives to private 
     industry for extracting and storing the otherwise wasted 
     helium, one of the world's most valuable resources will be 
     squandered at incalculable cost to future generations, the 
     group said.
       ``The present world growth rate in demand for helium is 
     about 10 percent per year,'' the society's report said. ``A 
     simple calculation shows that if that rate were to continue, 
     and if helium production could keep up with the demand, 
     United States helium-rich reserves would be exhausted in only 
     21 years.''
       The United States has large reserves of helium mixed with 
     natural methane in the gas fields of Texas, Wyoming and a few 
     other states. America is virtually the world's only source of 
     natural gas containing 0.3 percent or more or helium. In 
     Russia and Poland, two of the other main sources of helium, 
     natural gas generally contains 0.1 percent or less of helium, 
     and such a lean mixture is much more expensive to separate, 
     said Dr. Robert L. Park of the University of Maryland, 
     spokesman for the physicists' society.
       Helium is separated from the natural gas with which it is 
     mixed either by adsorbing the natural gas in charcoal or 
     other materials, or by compressing and cooling the methane 
     and other gases until all but the helium are liquefied. 
     Helium, which remains a gas unless it is chilled to minus 452 
     degrees Fahrenheit, is then pumped off.
       The main obstacle to extracting and storing helium, experts 
     agree, is the mismatch in market demands for natural fuel gas 
     and helium. When demand for natural gas is heavy, as is 
     normally the case in winter, large amounts of helium are 
     withdrawn from gas wells along with the natural gas, but if 
     there is little commercial demand for helium at that point, 
     there is no economic incentive to extract and save it, said 
     Dr. Park. Gas companies then generally avoid the expense of 
     separating the helium, which consequently remains mixed with 
     the natural gas and is lost when the gas is burned.
       Congress has decreed the demise of the Bureau of Mines, and 
     has ordered the shutdown of the bureau's helium separation 
     plant near Amarillo, Tex. which produces about 10 percent of 
     the nation's helium. (The rest is produced by commercial gas 
     companies: Praxair Inc. of Danbury, Conn; the BOC Group, a 
     British company with American headquarters in Murray Hill, 
     N.J.; Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Allentown, Pa., and 
     the Exxon Corporation are among the main producers.) In his 
     State of the Union address last year, President Clinton also 
     proposed closing down the Government's helium reserve 
     program, including the closing of the Cliffside Dome storage 
     well--a depleted natural gas cavern near Amarillo--which 
     contains the national helium stockpile.
       The Cliffside Dome, which is about one-third full, is 
     connected by pipelines to other helium-rich gas fields, and 
     when supplies of the extracted gas exceed demand. Cliffside 
     serves as an overrun storage site, from which helium can be 
     later drawn.
       Even defenders of the maintenance of a helium stockpile 
     acknowledge that the Bureau of Mines's Exell helium refining 
     plant near the Cliffside Dome is outdated, Inefficient and 
     expensive, and they say it holds an unfair financial 
     advantage over private competitors. All Government agencies 
     that buy helium must by law purchase it from the Bureau of 
     Mines, which sells the gas at $55 per thousand cubic feet 
     nearly 10 percent more than the price offered by commercial 
     suppliers.
       The bureau's helium operation, moreover, is heavily in 
     debt. But the debt of $1.4 billion is misleading, said Dr. 
     Philip C. Tully, a helium expert at the Bureau of Mines.
       ``Most of that money consists of interest we supposedly owe 
     the Treasury Department for the $252 million they advanced to 
     us to create the strategic helium reserve,'' Dr. Tully said 
     in an interview. ``It's just one Government agency in debt to 
     another Government agency--a paper debt--and Congress could 
     wipe it out with the stroke of a pen, at no cost to 
     taxpayers.''
       But neither the Bureau of Mines nor helium conservation has 
     many friends in Congress.
       A key sponsor of legislation to end all Federal helium 
     programs is Representative Christopher Cox, a California 
     Republican, who believes the fears expressed by the American 
     Physical Society are groundless.
       ``No matter who gains title to the helium in the Federal 
     stockpile, the helium will still exist,'' Mr. Cox said in an 
     interview. ``It won't be wasted. The only real risk is that 
     the Government might sell if off quickly to get cash to 
     reduce the deficit. That's misleading accounting practice. 
     But we are contemplating a gradual transfer of ownership, 
     taking half a lifetime.''
       Market demand will determine how much helium commercial 
     producers extract from the natural gas they sell, and as 
     supplies of helium decrease, Mr. Cox believes, higher prices 
     will create incentives to extract more helium. ``The gas 
     companies are already extracting 90 percent of the helium 
     produced in this country, and they will certainly continue,'' 
     Mr. Cox said.
       Dr. Park says the American Physical Society takes no 
     position as to whether helium conservation should be the 
     responsibility of Government or of private companies. ``Our 
     grandchildren aren't going to give a damn who saves the 
     world's richest supply of helium, as long as someone does it, 
     and does it before supplies run out,'' he said. ``Surely, our 
     politicians should be able to devise some incentive system to 
     encourage private industry to save the helium. Congress has 
     created lots of incentives for other purposes.''
       But Mr. Cox rejects this approach, saying that ``Government 
     tinkering with future price structures would be very 
     dangerous.''
       Helium was first discovered in the sun, not on earth. In 
     1868 while observing a solar eclipse, a French astronomer, 
     Pierre Janssen, detected lines in the sun's light spectrum 
     that did not match those of any known element. The presumed 
     new element was dubbed helium after the Greek word for sun: 
     hellos. In 1885, helium was discovered to exit on earth as 
     well. Helium is now known to be the second most abundant 
     element in the universe, after hydrogen. But when it escapes 
     from underground caverns where it has collected over the eons 
     chiefly as a decay product of radioactive minerals, it mixes 
     with air, rises into the atmosphere and is lost.
       Although American airships and balloons--both the full-size 
     versions and small weather balloons--are still inflated with 
     helium, that use of the gas accounts for only about 10 
     percent of its consumption. (The toy balloons popular at 
     parties and political rallies consume such trivial amounts of 
     helium that conservation advocates say they represent no 
     significant drain.) Major American uses of helium are for 
     purging and pressurizing the fuel tanks of NASA and Defense 
     Department spacecraft, for high-temperature welding and in 
     cryogenic applications like the magnetic resonance imaging 
     machines used by hospitals.
       About one-third of America's annual helium production is 
     exported to foreign users, and foreign demand is increasing 
     steadily.
       Helium has special importance to scientists because its 
     physical properties are unique among all the other 100-odd 
     elements. It is the only element that remains liquid at even 
     a tiny fraction of a degree above absolute zero, which is 
     equivalent to minus 459.67 Fahrenheit. Liquid helium cannot 
     freeze solid, no matter how close to the absolute zero it is 
     chilled.
       Because it remains liquid at ultra-low temperatures, liquid 
     helium is vital as a medium for chilling mercury, arsenic, 
     niobium and other elements to temperatures at which they lose 
     all resistance to electricity, becoming superconductors.
       Although various compounds based on copper oxide become 
     superconductors at much higher temperatures, warmer than that 
     of liquid nitrogen (minus 320.4 degrees Fahrenheit), these 
     compounds are difficult to incorporate into useful 
     implements, and so far, their use has been limited.
       Among the major users of liquid helium for chilling 
     superconductors are the huge accelerator laboratories 
     studying nature's fundamental particles. The Fermilab 
     Tevatron accelerator at Batavia, III., is a four-mile ring of 
     superconducting magnets, all of them continuously cooled by 
     liquid helium. Fermilab operates the world's largest liquid-
     helium refrigeration plant, but it will soon take second 
     place to a project under construction near Geneva.
       On a smaller scale, astronomers are heavily dependent on 
     liquid helium for cooling infrared and microwave sensors in 
     their telescopes. Such sensors must be chilled to eliminate 
     the heat ``noise'' that otherwise masks the faint heat 
     signals from distant celestial objects.
       ``Sooner or later we're going to have to start husbanding 
     our helium,'' Dr. Park said. ``If we do it now, we can save 
     the helium-rich supply before it goes up the chimney. If we 
     wait, we'll still need helium, but it will be vastly more 
     expensive to separate from helium-poor gas supplies. Have we 
     the right to mortgage our future?''

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Ehlers].
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I am rising as a scientist to speak about 
the importance of helium in scientific research. I find that most 
Americans believe that it is simply used to fill balloons to be 
distributed at parties or other festivities.
  I want to point out it is extremely important that we maintain a 
reserve of helium for use in scientific research. It is the only 
element that can be used to come close to absolute zero in low

[[Page H4145]]

temperature work. It has some amazing superfluid properties which are 
still being uncovered, and, all and all, it is a vital component of our 
research program in the United States.
  I do not rise to oppose the bill. I simply want to state my main 
objective here is to ensure that we continue to have an adequate supply 
of helium for the future, particularly so that our children and 
grandchildren will be able to carry on this important research.
  I believe this bill has sufficient provisions to ensure that the 
reserve will be maintained in some fashion, but I want to assure the 
entire Congress that it is very important we keep an eye on this in the 
future and continue to maintain a reserve, whether it be in private 
hands or Federal hands.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas has made a good point 
concerning whether or not in terminating the program there will be 
genuine competition take place or whether there will be privatization 
under circumstances, to wit, a formula that inhibits competition.
  At the same time, there are questions with respect to conservation 
and the interests of the Nation with respect to the helium reserve. My 
own inclination is to be sympathetic to the gentleman from Texas' 
commentary. However, I realize that the gentleman, who has been in the 
forefront of bringing this legislation to the floor, may have another 
view or perhaps an additional observation to make with respect to the 
conservation aspect.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding to me. I also appreciate the opportunity to address the very 
good points that have been raised. While Dave Berry has made fun of the 
National Helium Reserve, and while P.J. O'Rourke called it a program 
that is amazingly stupid, even by Government standards, and while most 
people when they think of helium think of party balloons, the truth is 
that there is a very real and important high-tech application for 
helium.
  It is irreplaceable in many high-tech applications, and it is very 
important to our high-tech economy that we do our utmost to conserve 
what is a very finite and limited resource.
  Every time you make a long distance phone call, you are using helium, 
because the fiberoptics that carry your voice are manufactured with its 
aid. If you ever had an MRI, you know of the uses of helium in 
superconducting, because it is the cryogenic properties of liquid 
helium that make possible the high magnetic fields used in magnetic 
resonance imaging. Deep sea divers do not get the bends because of 
developments in oxygen and helium mixtures.
  All of these and other uses of helium, even the Federal Government's 
own uses at NASA and the Department of Defense, are high-technology, 
and are examples of just how important it is to us today, as it was not 
in the 1920's when this program was started, to conserve all of the 
helium that we can.

  We cannot forget that we manufacture helium as a byproduct of natural 
gas. When we produce that natural gas, it is important that the cost of 
extracting the helium is not such that we cannot make it economic to do 
so. We do not want to vent the helium into the atmosphere.
  So this bill achieves that conservation objective by actually making 
it more likely people will invest their funds, private funds, into 
recovering helium at the wellhead.
  Selling helium below the cost of extraction, which is what we would 
be doing without the formula in this bill, is obviously antithetical to 
the goal of conservation. So what the bill says is that the $1.4 
billion debt to taxpayers must be recovered through the sale of the 34 
billion cubic feet of helium that we now have stored underground in 
Texas.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I do not think that 
we would resolve that particular dispute today. Suffice to say that Mr. 
Thornberry has raised the issue as to whether the formula is so exact 
in this bill that it needs no further consideration, and I think his 
contention is that it should receive at least another good look before 
it passes into a final form to be presented to the President for 
signature.

                              {time}  1530

  I think that, at a minimum, we deserve at least another look and I 
think that that opportunity exists in the other body.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, with respect to that, I want to thank 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert] for his usual courtesy and 
kind attention toward our efforts in the minority, and I thank the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] for his remarks today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Hawaii 
for his courtesy through all of this debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Cox] who has really fought this battle to end the 
helium program once and for all, and hopefully, this time, will 
succeed.
  (Mr. COX of California asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks).
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, we have actually passed this bill 
already once in the House and in the Senate. Unfortunately the 
legislation to privatize the national helium reserve was then included 
in the larger Balanced Budget Act that was vetoed by President Clinton. 
This time we are wisely passing the bill all by itself because it is, I 
think, enormously popular on both the Democrat and Republican sides 
after many, many years of hard work to get it that far.
  I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. 
Abercrombie] for his work in helping us move this bill to the floor, as 
well as my colleague from California, who is, as chairman, responsible 
for bringing this bill directly to the floor.
  I would also like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts, Barney Frank, who spoke earlier on this legislation. He 
and I coauthored it in not only the current Congress but past 
Congresses. It has been many, many years that we have been working on 
this bill.
  I am also grateful to my colleague from Nevada, Congresswoman, 
Barbara Vucanovich, a member of the House Republican leadership; to the 
gentleman from Alaska, chairman Don Young; and to the gentleman from 
Ohio, Congressman Frank Cremeans, who along with the gentleman from 
California, Ken Calvert, who we just heard speak on this bill, they in 
particular have worked tirelessly on this legislation in the Committee 
on Resources, to make sure that what may now look very easy and 
completely agreeable to almost all sides could actually happen.
  I would also like to thank Chris Kearney, Bill Condit, and Sharla 
Bickley of the Committee on Resources' staff who have done yeomen's 
work on this issue and whose efforts deserve recognition.
  To recap. The helium program was begun in the 1920's for a good 
reason. At the time there was no private industry of helium production 
but there was a national security need to field a fleet of blimps in 
time of war. Fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft have now replaced the 
blimp in our national defense and, as I mentioned earlier, it is now 
the high-tech commercial and scientific uses for helium that dominate.
  Today, because of all of those commercial uses, there is a thriving 
commercial industry in helium that supplies 90 percent of the world's 
needs from right here in the good old USA. There is no reason whatever 
that the Government of the United States should uniquely supply its own 
needs of this commodity when it does not for any other, even strategic 
metals and commodities and resources.
  So this bill will do two things. It will, first, sell off and 
liquidate those physical assets of the Government facility in Texas; 
privatize them, if you will, immediately; and, second, over a 19-year 
period, sell off the 34 billion cubic feet of stored underground 
helium, not for immediate use, for continued conservation and eventual 
sale over who knows how many decades or

[[Page H4146]]

perhaps centuries, to the private industry. So that, privately, 
suppliers will then own that helium.
  But keep in mind, for those of us who are physicists, not I, but 
certainly the gentleman who spoke before me, keep in mind the law, the 
fundamental law of the conservation of matter. Just because we change 
title, just because we change ownership from the Federal Government to 
private hands does not mean that the helium will not still be there. It 
will be there. In fact, more of it will be there because of the 
incentives for increased helium recovery a the wellhead created by this 
legislation.
  The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 will do a few more things that 
we can all applaud. It will require the production of honest financial 
statements for this Government enterprise in the short run so that we 
know finally just how much it is costing us. We know the operation is 
$1.4 billion in debt to the taxpayers right now and loses tens of 
millions each year because of that interest burden that it has never 
been able to meet. But we do not know to a certainty what the 
operations cost; and we shall, as a result of the passage of this bill.
  In addition, we will ensure that the debt, that $1.4 billion debt to 
taxpayers, is recovered. That is the ultimate object of this 
legislation. The taxpayers hold the mortgage on the debt and now, by 
relying on the security of the underground stored helium, the taxpayers 
will get their money back.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I am delighted that the leadership of 
this Congress has made passage of the Helium Privatization Act a 
priority, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join 
with me and the bipartisan leadership you have heard speak on this bill 
in supporting this important measure. It is high time we finally retire 
this expensive waste of taxpayers' money.
  Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago articles in the New York Times and the 
Washington Post reported that concerns about U.R. 3008 had been raised 
by the American Physical Society. In fact, APS has not taken a position 
on the legislation. Moreover, the background paper prepared by APS was 
premised on the mistaken notion that by ``privatization'' of the helium 
reserve, the bill meant immediate sale of the stockpile. That is 
obviously not the case. To the contrary, many physicists (and APS 
members) have announced support for the bill. The following letter 
explains many of the problems with the original, now outdated, APS 
statement:

                                 Arthur W. Francis Consulting,

                                   New York, NY, January 12, 1996.
     American Physical Society,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Sirs: This letter to each member of the Council of 
     American Physical Society (CoAPS) is sent out of concern for 
     your 11/19/95 statement CONSERVATION OF HELIUM and its 
     background paper. As a cryogenic engineer, business manager, 
     and consultant for 45 years in supply and use of helium, and 
     a very early and continuous supporter of helium conservation, 
     I was appalled by the CoAPS statement. The fear of complete 
     loss of helium in 20 to 25 years is understandable, but it is 
     somewhat naive. It indicates a serious lack of understanding 
     of events of the past fifteen years that have led Congress to 
     undertake its first effective revision of the Helium Act of 
     1960.
       I am writing you in hopes that you and your colleagues will 
     reconsider your position and recognize the helium reform 
     provision of the Budget Reconciliation Bill as a step toward 
     optimum use of helium. It is important that you and other 
     scientists realize that this legislation promotes use of 
     otherwise wasting helium sources and does not threaten 
     premature use of the government owned stored helium. It was 
     arrived at with full knowledge of the importance of a wide 
     variety of helium dependent technologies for science as well 
     as the general welfare.
       My credentials on this subject are these: I was Linde's 
     principal investigator in its 1951 discovery of alternate 
     layer super-insulations, created the basic design of all 
     standard multi-shield vapor cooled liquid helium dewars, and 
     was chief architect of the system of bulk liquid helium 
     transport that now spans the globe. My baptism of fire in 
     support of helium conservation was program chairman of a 
     technical session of the Bureau of Mines sponsored ``Helium 
     Centennial'' of 1968. Along with Dr. Ed Hammel, I wrote and 
     spoke many times in support of helium conservation during the 
     dark days of the 1970's.
       As an expert witness I participated in the decades long 
     litigation regarding the value of helium in natural gas and 
     the rights of land owners and gas producers to a proper share 
     of that value. I have continued my interest in conservation 
     through my retirement years, attending hearings and giving 
     advice to interested parties as the present legislation 
     developed. I remain involved in helium supply problems as a 
     consultant to the United States Antarctic Program, regarding 
     liquid helium supply to Astrophysics at the South Pole. I am 
     scheduled to make my seventh trip there next week.
       The Background Paper, on which the CoAPS statement is 
     based, contains many errors. The most critical of these is 
     the seemingly innocuous statement that, ``Some 10% of the 
     total U.S. helium extraction presently is performed by the 
     Bureau of Mines''. This is completely false, as is also, 
     ``the helium stored in Cliffside (field) has remained 
     approximately constant at 32 Bcf''. In fact, all of the 
     helium purified by the Bureau since 1980 has come from the 
     Cliffside storage field, and the government owned helium in 
     the field has been drawn down by nearly five billion cubic 
     feet (5 Bcf) in the process. These actions have been the 
     result of a bureaucratic policy directly at odds with the 
     letter and spirit of the 1960 Act. The intent has been to 
     ensure continuance of the bureaucrats' own jobs.


                         legislation objective

       The prime objective of the current legislation is to 
     eliminate the wasteful and unnecessary government helium 
     refining activity. Private producers are able to provide this 
     service with less than one fifth the personnel and at 
     substantially lower cost. CoAPS says ``there is no objection 
     to this feature of the Act''. Yet for ten years the sweet 
     voice of reason had not been able to move this deeply 
     entrenched anti-conservation cabal. What has brought us to 
     bi-partisan support of both houses of Congress is right 
     minded public ridicule. The caricature of conservation so 
     presented has even moved the White House to support 
     elimination of the Bureau of Mines refining operation.


                              debt is real

       CoAPS also errs in stating that the so called debt incurred 
     to purchase helium ``is purely illusory, any transfer of 
     funds from one government agency to another neither reduces 
     the national debt nor increases the deficit by a single 
     penny''.
       Also at odds with the facts is the assertion that, ``the 
     helium issue is muddled by claims that the sale is required 
     to pay off the $1.4 Billion debt''. CoAPS has fallen for the 
     bureaucrats' sham that the debt is internal to the government 
     and has no intrinsic meaning. In fact, money to acquire 
     helium for government storage was borrowed from world money 
     markets by the Treasury. The 1960 Congress intended, and the 
     Helium Act stated, that government helium was to be priced to 
     repay borrowed funds, including compound interest. This was 
     done to insure that stored helium would be priced high enough 
     to avoid interference with helium extracted from current 
     natural gas production.


                        anti-conservation policy

       In spite of this clear directive, the Bureau helium 
     management established a policy in 1979 in which the selling 
     price would be held down so that as general inflation raised 
     prices charged by private producers, the Bureau would sell 
     below the market price. The managers claimed that as long as 
     current costs were covered, it wasn't necessary to repay the 
     purchase price and its associated interest because the debt 
     was simply a paper transaction between two government 
     departments.
       Pricing stored helium below the cost of extraction from 
     natural gas produced for its fuel value is obviously contrary 
     to conservation. The present legislation language is another 
     attempt to insure that stored helium will command a price 
     above the market for current extraction. The legislation 
     places emphasis on retiring the debt because that is what 
     motivates those interested in reducing the deficit. Simply to 
     state that helium from storage must be priced above the 
     market from current extraction doesn't win votes at this 
     time. The ultimate effect will be the same, as long as the 
     price is right.


                cost of saving more helium would be high

       CoAPS is correct in stating that the legislation makes no 
     provision for saving helium that is now being wasted from 
     currently produced natural gas. However, the potential for 
     significant additional helium recovery is much smaller, and 
     the cost of that recovery much larger, two to three times 
     current costs, than implied by CoAPS statement.
       The reason for this is that the favorable streams are 
     already being produced. Each of the original five 
     conservation plants is extracting as much helium as possible 
     from the gas available. In addition three new plants 
     extracting from Hugoton field have come on stream since 1990. 
     With all these plants extracting helium in 1994 the total 
     U.S. output exceeded 4.1 Bcf, about 90% of the peak year 
     1967, although the output of high helium content natural gas 
     was less than 70% of the 1967 rate. The remaining unprocessed 
     streams tend to be smaller, depleting faster, and removed 
     from the existing infrastructure.


                     consumption growth is slowing

       CoAPS warns that ``present growth rate in demand for helium 
     is about 10% per year'' which projected would exhaust U.S. 
     helium rich reserves in 21 years. Alternatively, even without 
     increasing helium demand the loss of unextracted helium from 
     natural gas fuel demand would deplete U.S. gas fields in 
     about the same time frame. In fact, sales growth began to 
     fade in 1990, and since 1992 has leveled at 3.314 Bcf (Fy 
     1992), 3.313 (Fy 93), and 3.280 for (Fy 1994). This abrupt 
     halt to the 10% growth rate has come from a combination of 
     foreign production displacing some U.S. exports and increased 
     user efficiency.

[[Page H4147]]

                 foreign helium sources are significant

       CoAPS assert that ``helium rich fields are found only in 
     the U.S. and to a small extent in Canada'', yet large scale 
     foreign plants are producing in Poland, Russia, and Algeria 
     with total capacity exceeding one billion cubic feet per 
     year, about 25% of current U.S. capacity. Smaller plants have 
     operated in Canada, Holland, France, China and India.


       reliquefaction and repurification increase use efficiency

       More important even than this large foreign supply is the 
     growing user concern for efficiency. Once through then out 
     (OTTO) use of purchased helium is being replaced by closed 
     loops using reliquefiers and repurifiers. This allows 
     application of helium dependent technology to expand without 
     consuming more helium. Research in high temperature 
     superconductivity shows promise of taking over much of 
     today's low temperature superconducting applications.


                    helium will be plentiful longer

       To sell the 1960 program, the Bureau of Mines predicted 
     that helium could not be extracted from the Hugoton-Panhandle 
     fields beyond 1985. Yet ten years later production remains at 
     a high level and is now predicted to continue at least 
     another ten to fifteen years. Natural gas has been produced 
     from these fields throughout the past seventy five years, yet 
     nearly every year there are additions to the remaining 
     measured reserves that tend to delay the eventual 
     abandonment. The Bureau of Mines information circular 
     ``Helium Resources of the United States, 1973'' reported that 
     109.3 Bcf of helium @ >0.3% concentration was contained in 
     the fifty year old, depleting natural gas fields of Kansas, 
     Oklahoma, and Texas. From 1973 to 1987, these fields produced 
     natural gas containing 81.8 Bcf helium. However, in the 1987 
     circular, the Bureau reported that 73.4 Bcf remained in the 
     proved reserves of those fields. There had been enough upward 
     revision of the proved gas reserves to add over 50 Bcf of 
     contained helium >0.3%. Between 1987 and 1989 gas production 
     contained 9 Bcf helium, but reserve revisions added 11 Bcf. 
     In the next two years gas production contained 10 Bcf and 
     revisions added 9 Bcf. As of 1991, the latest available 
     publication in this series, these old fields, after producing 
     about 102 Bcf, still held about 80 Bcf of proved reserves for 
     future use. Further additions are still possible, even 
     probable. The resource is never the less finite, but the 
     finite limit has not yet been identified.


         all gas from largest reserves is processed for helium

       Regarding helium loss in non-processed gas it is important 
     to recognize that all of the gas from the Riley Ridge field 
     in Wyoming (proved reserves of about 120 Bcf) is processed 
     for helium extraction. This field, which supplies about one 
     third of current pure helium sales, is being produced at a 
     rate of only one per cent of its proved reserves per year. It 
     is unlikely that this production rate will increase until the 
     price of natural gas increases significantly. At current fuel 
     prices, it is not possible to obtain an acceptable return on 
     the huge investment required to upgrade this low Btu gas to 
     pipeline quality. It may be decades before fuel demand 
     reaches price levels that will encourage new processing 
     capacity. Riley Ridge is likely to produce helium throughout 
     most of the 21st century.


        nondepleting fields can provide for very distant future

       Beyond this, it is possible that a significant helium 
     supply could be obtained from the proven gas fields that are 
     not producing at all. The hydrocarbon fuel value of this gas 
     is so low that it would barely provide energy for the 
     processing plant. The Bureau of Mines has identified 85 
     billion cubic feet of helium in these non depleting sources, 
     more than half of this is already owned by the United States 
     government. Extracting helium as a primary rather than by-
     product will be expensive. However, the concentration is 
     three orders of magnitude greater than in air, so it won't 
     require even 0.1% of the nation's energy consumption. This 
     helium source may well be available into the 22nd century.
       It is futile to make any more detailed predictions for such 
     distant future times. Nearly every prediction that far into 
     the future is bound to fail because we cannot even surmise 
     what human society will be like in even very gross measures. 
     It is entirely fair to say that the bleak picture presented 
     by CoAPS is unlikely, and that it is quite likely that 
     sufficient helium to meet all reasonable needs will be 
     available as far into the future as anyone can foresee.
       I hope that you, as a member of CoAPS, can be open minded 
     to the information I have presented. If you now have doubts 
     about the CoAPS position, please consult with your colleagues 
     and advise the Physical Society membership to have confidence 
     that helium conservation is not in danger. If you want still 
     more information on this subject, please call me at 914-354-
     1908. My E-mail address is [email protected]. By the time you 
     receive this letter, I will probably be on my way to 
     Antarctica. I am scheduled to return by February 19, 1996, 
     and you can reach me then. If you have a compelling need to 
     pick my brains before then try an E-mail to one of my 
     colleagues in Antarctica, Mr. Jesse Alcorta. His E-mail 
     address is [email protected].
           Very sincerely,
                                                   Arthur Francis.

  Mr. Speaker, consideration of this bill requires some background. Let 
us begin with these questions.


           why is the u.s. government in the helium business?

  Helium is a gas whose unique physical properties make it 
irreplaceable in many high technology applications. As Government space 
exploration and defense programs expanded during the 1950's, Government 
scientists became convinced that demand for helium would outgrow 
supply. Natural gas was, and continues to be, the only economic source 
of helium and few natural gas streams contained a high enough 
concentration of helium to make extraction economically viable. If the 
helium is not extracted when the natural gas is produced, it is forever 
lost into the atmosphere. The use-it-or-lose-it dynamics of helium at 
the well-head lent a special sense of urgency to the perceived supply-
demand imbalance.
  At congressional hearings held in 1960, mining experts reported that 
nearly 4 billion cubic feet of helium were being lost each year--about 
10 times the then current consumption. A valuable, nonrenewable 
resource was apparently being wasted, threatening shortages in future 
decades when demand for helium was expected to be much larger.
  Against this backdrop, Congress passed the Helium Act of 1960. This 
act funded a Government program to extract crude helium from natural 
gas and store it in the Cliffside Field near Amarillo, TX. The 
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines [USBM] entered into 22-
year purchase agreements with four natural gas producers who built 
helium extraction facilities in the Hugoton-Panhandle Field area of 
Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and the USBM built a pipeline to carry its 
helium purchases to the Cliffside Field. The Helium Act also required 
that Federal agencies purchase their helium requirements from the USBM. 
To meet those requirements, the USBM constructed a helium purification 
facility near Amarillo, TX. A final objective of the Act was to foster 
the development of a private helium industry--presumably to allow the 
USBM to de-emphasize or discontinue its helium program as soon as it 
could prudently do so.
  By the time the Government terminated its helium purchase agreements 
in 1973, the USBM had accumulated roughly 35 billion cubic feet of 
helium. By most estimates, this represents a 100-year supply for U.S. 
Government customers, and roughly nine times the current annual 
worldwide demand. While the Government stopped purchasing additional 
helium in 1973, the remainder of the Government's helium program, 
including operation of its refining plant, management of the pipeline 
and storage system, and the sale of helium to Federal agencies has 
largely remained intact.
  Now, 23 years later--and 36 years after the Government's helium 
program was expanded, it is long since time to re-examine the USBM 
helium program. A vibrant private sector helium industry has emerged 
which now supplies over 90 percent of the world's total demand for 
helium. Additional capacity is available which would enable private 
industry to easily supply the entire demand, including the demand 
presently supplied by the USBM. Given the current emphasis on 
reinventing Government, the USBM's helium programs seems to provide an 
excellent opportunity to restructure or discontinue a Government 
program that no longer provides fair value to American taxpayers.


                   why is helium a valuable resource?

  When we hear helium the first thoughts that come to mind are of 
Macy's parade, Mother's Day, and FTD's balloon bouquets. In actuality, 
helium touches us in our everyday lives. This rare element has unique 
properties that have allowed us to improve our quality of life.
  Every time you place a long distance call, you can be assured helium 
was used in the manufacture of the fiber optic cables used to transmit 
your voice. Advances in medical diagnostics have been accomplished 
through MRI units that achieve their high magnetic fields from 
superconductivity made possible by the cryogenic properties of liquid 
helium. The construction and fabrication industries use helium and 
helium mixes extensively in welding and metal fabrication. Deep sea 
divers in the offshore oil industry can be assured that they will not 
be crippled from the bends with the development of helium/oxygen 
breathing mixes.
  These are but a few of the many applications for which helium is used 
to improve our lives. New applications are being developed not only in 
high technology research such as super computer chips, but low 
technology industries as well. Worldwide consumption of helium 
increases on an average of 7-10 percent per year both from growth of 
current uses and development of new applications.
  This natural resource which has contributed much to our development 
as a technological leader is not unlimited. The United States has been 
fortunate to be endowed with concentrations of this element in select 
natural gas fields which have allowed for its exploitation.

[[Page H4148]]

While helium is a non-renewable resource, produced only as a byproduct 
of natural production, depletion of these reserves is inevitable. The 
Federal helium reserve and conservation system, which are discussed in-
depth in another paper, play an important role in preserving our 
independence as a technological leader. This reserve serves as an 
important insurance that we do not compromise our future for short-term 
fixes. The Federal reserve and conservation system were designed to 
encourage maximum extraction of helium from currently produced natural 
gas thereby ensuring the United States of a long term position in the 
development of applications dependent on the unique properties of this 
element.


               Is the Federal Helium Operation Efficient?

  The U.S. Bureau of Mines within the Department of the Interior 
operates the Federal Helium Program. Federal helium operations consist 
of: First, a plant to refine crude helium; second, an underground 
storage facility to store crude helium, and third, a pipeline to 
transport crude helium recovered from the source gas fields to the 
storage facility.
  Private sector helium-refining facilities are far more efficient than 
the Federal refinery. The Federal refining plant employs at least 80 
people, while a private facility of equivalent production capacity 
employing only approximately 18 people can produce three times as much 
helium. This astonishing discrepancy in productivity is attributed in 
part to the outdated plant and equipment at the Federal facility. A 
recent study by the General Accounting Office concluded that the 
Federal refining facility is so outmoded that it would have only scrap 
value in the event of liquidation.
  Federal revenue from the sale of refined helium falls far short of 
Federal costs of helium production. In the market place, price is the 
most direct measure of efficiency. The current Federal price for 
refined helium is now $55 per MCF and generates revenue only sufficient 
to cover operational costs and a slight surplus. For instance, the 
Federal price does not include the cost of crude helium. The best 
estimate for assigning a unit value of the crude in the Federal reserve 
is to divide 32 BCF--total Federal reserves of crude--into $1.4 
billion--total debt--to arrive at an approximate cost of $40 MCF. If 
the cost of this free crude were included, the Federal price would be 
$95 per MCF, which is hardly competitive with the private sector. Crude 
helium is free to the Bureau of Mines because the money borrowed from 
the taxpayer to buy the crude was never repaid.
  The Bureau of Mines hides the inefficiency of the refining operation 
by including unrelated revenue. When private producers extract crude 
helium from Federal property, they pay a royalty to the Bureau of Mines 
of approximately $5 million per year. This royalty income is unrelated 
to Federal helium operations, yet the Bureau of Mines uses the revenue 
stream to subsidize its refining operation.
  The Federal helium operation is the epitome of an inefficient, 
Federal program that continues to exist despite the absence of current 
need. The Department of the Interior entered into the helium business 
in 1960, when Federal helium requirements were projected to increase 
dramatically and no reliable sources of helium were available in the 
private sector. Today, the Federal Government's need constitutes only 
10 percent of the total demand for helium, and a vigorous private 
sector could easily supply all Federal users at a competitive price.


                      Who Uses the Helium Reserve?

  The 1960 Federal Helium Act has been successful in storing for the 
U.S. Government 32 billion cubic feet of crude helium--50 percent or 
greater helium content, the remainder nitrogen--in a partially depleted 
natural gas field near Amarillo, TX, called the Cliffside Field. A 
pipeline system is used to transport crude helium to storage. It is 
operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, and 
is also used by private industry to store any crude helium that is not 
required to meet market demand. Helium is being extracted by private 
industry plants from natural gas going to meet the energy demand of 
U.S. households and industry. A portion of the private crude helium is 
being stored in the Cliffside Field under USBM supervision.
  Does the U.S. Government need a crude helium reserve? Worldwide 
helium demand from 1972 to 1992 had a growth rate of 9.3 percent per 
year and now exceeds 3 billion cubic feet per year. Although supply 
currently exceeds demand current helium bearing natural gas being 
produced for market will soon be depleted. Conservative U.S. Government 
estimates forecast that U.S. helium demand will exceed supply between 
2001 and 2004. The real value of the 32 billion cubic feet will be its 
availability to the U.S. economy when the extractable helium is not 
adequate to supply demand. Although the U.S. Government's helium 
reserve will be very valuable once U.S. reserves of helium-bearing 
natural gas are depleted, the current market value of the crude helium 
reserve is far lower than some of the estimates that have been quoted 
by various uninformed sources. It would be totally unrealistic to 
expect to sell more than a small fraction of the reserve for prices 
approaching current market value. If the U.S. Government were to 
attempt to dispose of the entire reserve--nine times annual worldwide 
demand--over a short period of time, it would realize only pennies on 
the dollar and severely depress private industry prices for crude 
helium. Any short-term sales of crude helium into a depressed market 
will be at the taxpayers expense.
  By 2005 the helium reserve will become very valuable--so valuable it 
will be considered irreplaceable for the smooth functioning of our 
economy and then USBM sales will be at prices consistent with the 
helium reserve's true value.


  can the government sell crude helium without disrupting the private 
                            helium industry?

  The world market for refined helium is just over 3 billion cubic feet 
per year. Private refiner/marketers of helium are fully capable of 
supplying this demand for the foreseeable future. In addition, new 
helium production and refining capacity is coming into service will 
provide an abundant supply to satisfy an estimated growth in demand of 
7-10 percent per year for the next 5 years.
  The Government refines helium from crude helium which is held in 
long-term storage and sells it on the market in competition with helium 
from current production. Selling crude helium from the Federal helium 
reserve will create an oversupply of helium. An over supply of helium 
will push prices down making further investment to recover helium from 
current natural gas production less likely. Government sales of helium 
at below market prices is dumping a valuable and depleting commodity.
  The Cliffside Field is the only economically feasible storage 
capacity for crude helium--50 percent or greater helium, the remainder 
nitrogen. The Federal helium reserve has held this crude helium since 
the 1960's. The Cliffside Field which contains the Federal helium 
reserve also serves private sector helium producers as the only 
commercially storage site for private sector crude helium. A fee is 
paid to the Bureau of Mines for use of the pipeline and storage 
capacity.
  The natural gas from helium rich gas fields will continue to be 
produced as a fuel even if the helium is not recovered. This helium 
will be lost forever.
  Any sale of Government helium will displace helium from current 
recovery or production plants. Therefore, Government sales of refined 
and/or crude helium to meet current demand are not needed, will be 
disruptive and will waste helium by reducing its recovery from helium 
bearing natural gas currently going to market.


         should crude helium be sold anyway, to raise revenue?

  This is a terrible idea. The Congressional Budget Office seemingly 
will not credit helium sales for deficit reduction purposes. Moreover, 
crude helium sales to raise cash now would undermine the long term 
value of the reserve, because helium will continue to increase in 
value. The fact is, helium sales into the private market cost more than 
they gain.


              can the $1.4 billion helium debt be repaid?

  Back in 1960, Congress recognized that helium was essential for such 
agencies as NASA and the Atomic Energy Commission. It passed a law 
creating the Federal helium activity to ensure helium supplies to 
Federal users. Given that the nascent private helium industry could not 
then be expected to meet Government demand, Congress authorized the 
Department of Interior to borrow a quarter of a billion dollars to set 
itself up in the helium business, which included creating a stockpile 
or reserve. The Treasury Department handled the borrowing.
  Mindful that Government agencies need discipline to return money to 
the taxpayers, Congress directed that the incurred debt be amortized 
and be paid in full by 1985. A final deadline of 1995 was mandated. 
Revenue to service the debt would come from sales of helium. 
Incredulously, some 36 years later not only has the principal on the 
debt not been repaid but neither has any of the interest. This 
indebtedness has now accrued to $1.4 billion.
  Some in the Government attest that this billion dollar debt is not 
real. Since it is owned by one Government agency to another Government 
agency it can be forgiven without ill consequences. Yet, every week at 
the Treasury's auction of government securities this debt is rolled 
over. It has been rolling over every week now since the sixties--piling 
up interest accumulation.
  Can the taxpayers ever realistically expect repayment of this debt? 
The answer is ``yes''. Had the Interior Department, U.S. Bureau of 
Mines, carried out Congress' mandate to amortize the debt, this 
question would not be asked today. The Department, however, chose not 
to employ a rational pricing policy that would have recovered this 
money. Instead of slowly increasing the price of helium to keep pace 
with inflation, it opted to simply freeze

[[Page H4149]]

the price to its customers. It stayed nearly frozen for over 20 years!
  The Interior Department should initiate a realistic pricing structure 
sufficient to start amortizing this debt. It may take another 30 years 
to pay it off, but at least taxpayers eventually could be made whole. 
The worst thing the Government can do now is simply to forgive this 
debt. It would not only reward a bureaucracy for shunning a 
congressional mandate, but more importantly it would forever remove the 
discipline the Department needs to avoid wasting this scarce, valuable 
element.
  Helium is wasted by selling it too cheaply. Cheap Government sales 
discourage gas producers from extracting crude helium from current 
natural gas production. When it wishes to refine crude helium the 
Department simply pulls crude helium from its stockpile. Helium refined 
from current gas production ensures that it is priced to market value.


 why does the federal helium program want to undercut private industry?

  There have been several proposals made to reform the Helium Program 
operated by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Mines. Some of these 
proposals would enable the USBM to use the crude helium purchased and 
stored with tax-payer dollars as a free feed stock for their helium 
plant. The refined helium that the Government produces from this free 
feed stock could then be sold at prices below those charged by the 
industry, which does not have access to a free feed stock. Current 
proposals to forgive the helium fund debt would free the USBM to 
greatly increase their sales into the private sector.
  Sales of USBM helium into the private sector enable the USBM to 
spread their high operating and administration costs over a larger 
volume. This, coupled with the free feed stock discussed above, helps 
hide the inefficiency of their operation. As Federal research and 
defense budgets have been reduced, the demand by Government agencies 
for helium has declined. This has left the USBM with a need to increase 
their sales of helium into the private sector in order to keep their 
inefficiency from pricing them out of the business entirely. No 
consideration is given to the fact that such sales disrupt the normal 
function of the private helium market and result in the waste of 
helium, and lost or reduced income tax and royalty payments to the 
Federal Government.
  The USBM's stated policy has been to discourage the sale of Federal 
helium into the private sector, which according to their Annual Reports 
to Congress have been very limited. However, the DOI Inspector General 
reported that during the period from 1989 through 1990 when the USBM 
reported sales of only 2 million standard cubic feet of helium, 0.3 
percent of their total sales, into the private sector, it actually sold 
146 million standard cubic feet, 20 percent of their total sales. Their 
regulations required a surcharge on sales to private customers, which 
was almost never collected. This problem largely disappeared in 1991 
when the Director of the USBM increased the USBM helium price and 
removed the incentive to divert helium intended for Federal use to 
private use. Now, the USBM is proposing to reduce their price and this 
diversion of helium into the private sector, whether officially 
encouraged or not, will return.


   what is the legitimate role for the federal government concerning 
                                helium?

  Why is helium a valuable resource? Helium's unique physical 
properties are critical in many high technology applications, such as 
manufacturing fiber optic cable, enhancing magnetic resonance imaging 
[MRI] capability, providing an environment for superconductivity, and 
industrial welding and fabrication. For most uses of helium, no 
substitute exists. Helium is a byproduct of the extraction of natural 
gas from certain helium-rich fields. If not captured when the natural 
gas is extracted, the helium will be vented and lost forever.
  Why is the Federal Government in the helium business? Congress passed 
the Helium Act Amendments of 1960 to ensure that sufficient amounts of 
helium would be extracted and refined to meet the Federal Government's 
expanding needs for space and defense programs. Also, the act was 
enacted to foster the creation of a competitive private industry, which 
was in its infancy in 1960.
  Pursuant to this Act, the Bureau of Mines within the Department of 
Interior now operates the Federal Helium Program, which consists of: an 
underground facility to store crude helium; a pipeline to transport the 
crude helium from the field to the storage facility and a plant to 
refine--purify--crude helium. The Federal refinery, which sells 
principally to Federal customers, provides 10 percent of the refined 
helium in the U.S. market.
  Is the Federal Helium Program efficient? The Federal helium operation 
is the epitome of an inefficient Federal program that continues despite 
the absence of a current need. For example, the Federal refinery 
employs at least 80 people, while a typical private facility can 
produce at least three times as much helium with no more than 18 
people. Moreover, net receipts from the sale of helium to Federal 
users, are vastly overstated because the Federal refinery does not 
include the cost of crude helium in its price for refined helium.
  Who needs the helium reserve? The Federal Government owns 
approximately 32 billion cubic feet of crude helium, which is currently 
stored in the underground facility. These reserves represent an 
investment that will pay dividends when current demand for helium 
exceeds current supply. U.S. production capacity may well be 
insufficient to meet demand as early as the year 2001.
  Can the $1.4 billion helium debt be repaid? Congress originally 
authorized the Interior Department to borrow up to $250 million to 
enter the helium business and stockpile crude helium. The Bureau of 
Mines' sales of refined helium were supposed to generate sufficient 
revenue to return this money to the Treasury, but the outstanding 
principal and interest now amount to approximately $1.4 billion. By 
pricing helium to account for the debt, the Bureau of Mines could repay 
the debt over several years and ensure that any helium sold will yield 
the highest possible return to the taxpayer.
  Can the Federal Government sell crude helium without disrupting the 
private helium industry? The potential adverse affects of selling too 
much Federal crude helium are significant. Government sales will 
depress private production of helium, because less helium will be 
captured from current gas production. This will mean more private needs 
being met by Government sales. As a result, some helium would be lost 
forever. Any attempt to sell helium just to raise Federal revenue will 
likely result in below market pricing due to excess supply and, 
consequently, a poor return on the taxpayers' original investment. 
Moreover, there is no fiscal imperative to sell crude helium, because 
the Congressional Budget Office has advised that sales of crude helium 
from the reserve are asset sales and, therefore, provide no revenue for 
deficit reduction.
  How should the Federal helium activity be reformed? Unless Congress 
reforms the Federal Helium Program, the Department of Interior will 
continue to be the subject of criticism. Since a vigorous, competitive 
private sector helium industry now exists, the Federal Government no 
longer needs to take an active role in the business. For all of these 
reasons, Congress should enact H.R. 3008, which will: first, require 
the Bureau of Mines to discontinue the processing and sale of refined 
helium; second, preclude the sale of crude helium by the Bureau of 
Mines until current production of helium no longer satisfies current 
demand; and third, eventually repay the helium debt over two decades 
with revenue generated from the sale of crude helium, when market 
circumstances merit its release.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the following letter of support for H.R. 3008 
be included at this point in the Record.

                                     National Taxpayers Union,

                                                   April 29, 1996.
     Hon. Christopher Cox,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Cox: The 300,000-member National 
     Taxpayers Union strongly supports your legislation, H.R. 
     3008, the Helium Privatization Act.
       Passage of the Helium Privatization Act is long overdue. 
     For several years now, the National Helium Reserve has served 
     as one of the most glaring examples of our government's 
     inability to rid itself of obsolete, low-priority spending 
     programs. This stark symbolism seems to have no end, as the 
     New York Times reported that the Reserve was operating even 
     during last year's federal shutdown, when thousands of other 
     federal employees were classified as ``non-essential.''
       Conceived in 1925 to prepare for an outbreak of blimp 
     warfare, the National Helium Reserve certainly fits the 
     description ``non-essential.'' Today the program costs 
     taxpayers millions per year to staff and maintain, plus 
     millions more due to mandated purchases by government 
     agencies at inflated prices. Any proceeds from helium sales 
     to outside customers must be weighed against the costs of the 
     $1.4 billion in debt the agency has incurred during its 
     existence. Meanwhile, private helium producers have created 
     an adequate and efficient market that could easily sustain 
     the needs of both government and industry for the foreseeable 
     future in the absence of a federal program.
       Your legislation resists simplistic, headline-grabbing 
     approaches by providing a rational, methodical timetable for 
     privatization of the National Helium Reserve. The bill will 
     ensure a smooth transition to an all-private helium market 
     system as well as save taxpayers $9 million annually. The 
     Reserve's refining and marketing activities would cease, and 
     its stocks would be liquidated so as to provide the best 
     return for taxpayers who have continued to fund this 
     boondoggle.
       The nation's taxpayers expect and deserve a visible 
     commitment from their elected officials to reduce wasteful 
     spending. If Congress cannot muster the political will to 
     eliminate an obvious target such as the National Helium 
     Reserve, its credibility on tough deficit reduction issues 
     such as entitlement reform could suffer. Accordingly, 
     National Taxpayers Union's staff stands ready to assist your 
     effort to privatize the National Helium Reserve, and to that 
     end we

[[Page H4150]]

     urge your colleagues to work for swift passage of H.R. 3008, 
     the Helium Privatization Act.
           Sincerely,
                                                    David Keating,
                                         Executive Vice President.
                                  ____



                Council for Citizens Against Government Waste,

                                   Washington, DC, April 29, 1996.
     Hon. Chris Cox,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Cox: On behalf of the 600,000 members 
     of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), 
     I am writing to endorse The Helium Privatization Act (H.R. 
     3008). This legislation not only eliminates an archaic 
     program, long overdue for extinction, but also eliminates a 
     sizable debt already incurred by the program.
       The National Helium Reserve was created in 1925 as a 
     response to expectations that dirigibles would be an 
     important aspect of the military's air might. With the rapid 
     rise of fixed wing aircraft, the need for dirigibles was 
     quickly eliminated. Sadly, the program was not. Over the past 
     70 years, government agencies have been forced to buy helium 
     at an inflated price, now costing taxpayers $25 million 
     annually. The Reserve has also mounted a $1.4 billion debt 
     and a 100-year stockpile. According to some experts, the 
     Reserve has enough helium to supply every man, woman, and 
     child in the country for the next 19 years.
       The National Helium Reserve symbolizes exactly the type of 
     bloated government bureaucracy that taxpayers want 
     eliminated. This program has continued to survive, despite 
     meeting no apparent need and costing the taxpayers far more 
     money than buying from private sources. Even worse, 
     mismanagement has led to a sizable debt that now needs to be 
     eliminated. H.R. 3008 would do just that. Profits from asset 
     sales would be large enough to eliminate this debt, and 
     taxpayers would no longer have to bear the burden of this 
     unnecessary program.
       The Helium Privatization Act is common-sense legislation. 
     Even more encouraging is the overwhelming bipartisan support 
     that this legislation has received. I applaud your efforts to 
     privatize this program and urge all members of the House to 
     support this measure. CCAGW will consider this vote for its 
     1996 Congressional Ratings.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Thomas A. Schatz,
     President.
                                                                    ____

                                              Chamber of Commerce,


                                     United States of America,

                                                   April 24, 1996.
     Hon. Christopher Cox,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Cox: The U.S. Chamber Federation 
     believes it is time to shut down the federal helium program.
       The federal helium program was created over sixty years ago 
     when it was thought our national defense would depend on 
     blimps and dirigibles. Those days are long past but this 
     program is still in business. Even though the private sector 
     is capable of fulfilling our helium needs, currently 
     producing over 90 percent of U.S. supplies, federal agencies 
     are required to purchase helium from the federal program 
     which has generated a $1.4 billion debt.
       Our fiscal budget situation demands the elimination of this 
     wasteful and inefficient program. H.R. 3008 would terminate 
     the Department of the Interior's helium refining program. It 
     would responsibly dispense with the crude helium stockpile 
     without disrupting the market and provide a return on the 
     millions of taxpayer dollars invested in this operation.
       The U.S. Chamber Federation of 215,000 businesses, 3,000 
     state and local chambers, and 1,200 trade and professional 
     associations, and 76 American Chambers of Commerce abroad 
     respectfully requests your strong support and the expeditious 
     adoption of H.R. 3008.
           Sincerely,
     R. Bruce Josten.
                                                                    ____

     Hon. C. Christopher Cox,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Cox: President Clinton and both houses of 
     Congress agree that shutting down the federal helium 
     operation is an important reform necessary to reduce the size 
     and scope of government and to help balance the budget.
       Helium conservation is still a worthy objective and the 
     best way to achieve it is to end this inefficient, wasteful 
     federal program that inappropriately completes with the 
     private sector helium industry.
       We write to ask you to help move legislation that will 
     terminate the Interior Department's helium refinery and deal 
     responsibly with the crude helium stockpiled in the helium 
     reserve. H.R. 3008 meets these objectives and identical 
     language has already been approved by both the House and 
     Senate as part of the budget reconciliation package. Since 
     budget reconciliation is problematic, we now ask that you 
     support H.R. 3008.
       Congress should approve this ``good government'' 
     legislation that will help cut waste and return to the 
     taxpayers the tens of millions of dollars invested in the 
     helium program.
         American Gas Association, Citizens Against Government 
           Waste, Helium Advisory Council, National Association of 
           Manufacturers, National Taxpayers Union, Americans for 
           Tax Reform, Compressed Gas Association, Inc., 
           Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, Natural 
           Gas Supply Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

  Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, the importance of helium and the Government 
involvement in helium conservation and production dates back to the 
passage of the Helium Act of 1925. The building and operation of a 
large-scale helium extraction and purification plant went into 
operation in 1929 in Amarillo, TX, that until 1960, was the only 
domestic helium producer.
  In 1960, Congress amended the Helium Act to provide incentives for 
stripping natural gas of its helium, for purchase of the separated 
helium by the Government, and for its long-term storage. With now close 
to 34.25 billion cubic feet of helium in Government storage and a large 
private-sector helium recovery industry, some have asked whether or not 
the Federal Government should have a role in the helium business.
  While interest in helium began with World War I when its military 
value as an inert lifting gas was recognized by the Army and Navy, its 
current uses have far surpassed what many could have imagined. Helium 
now plays a vital role in the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration [NASA] Space Shuttle program as well as one of the most 
important materials in modern science. These are but a few of the 
current modern-day uses of helium that many of the opponents of the 
helium operations have failed to mention.
  The Space Shuttle uses more helium than any other single program in 
the Federal Government. The principle consumption comes just before 
launch time when the external tank must be purged before the liquid 
hydrogen fuel can be loaded. During flight, the hydrogen is pressurized 
with a helium atmosphere to force the liquid fuel to the turbines and 
the three main propulsion engines. While this is certainly the most 
high profile use at NASA, several other space projects used liquid 
helium supplied by the Bureau for cooling detectors, instruments, and 
entire satellites down to -452 degrees F. Currently NASA requires 80 
railroad cars of helium for each shuttle launch but it can only take it 
in gaseous form. No private company can supply it in gaseous form, so 
if H.R 3008 passes, NASA is going to have to spend millions of dollars 
to accept the helium as a liquid and then convert it to gas.
  The Department of Defense [DOD] is also very reliant upon helium. 
Bureau helium is used by the Defense Nuclear Agency [DNA] in 
experiments which simulate nuclear explosions. The Air Force is 
deploying an operational airborne antisatellite missile system with 
liquid helium in an aircraft before takeoff.
  DOD has also awarded two competing $12 million contracts to develop a 
ground-based, liquid-helium-cooled laser power system. The Navy, too, 
is conducting research on the use of airborne superconducting 
magnetometer to detect submerged enemy submarines.
  The Department of Energy [DOE] awards and administers contracts with 
Government-owned, contractor-operated [GOCO] national laboratories at 
Brookhaven, NY; Oak Ridge, TN; Fermi and Argonne, IL; Los Alamos, NM, 
and Berkely and Livermore, CA. DOE also conducts defense-related 
research, development and production, primarily at Los Alamos, Sandia, 
Livermore, Rocky Flats, and Pantex.
  Helium also plays a role in protecting our borders. Helium-filled, 
radar platform blimps, provide electronic surveillance of the southern 
border of the United States. The helium-filled inflatables float at 
10,000 feet and provide round-the-clock coverage from Arizona to the 
Bahamas.
  The Bureau is currently supplying liquid helium to several 
universities and medical facilities with Federal contracts who are 
conducting research on magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] to improve this 
technology.
  The concern over shutting down Government operations under H.R. 3008 
has prompted a warning from the American Physical Society that, ``Any 
helium that is not extracted will be lost forever as the natural gas is 
burned. Some incentive or requirement to store it must be in place.''
  All of the Federal agencies combined purchase about $20 million per 
year of helium from the Bureau. This is a small part of their budgets 
for research, development, and operation of these Government 
activities. The helium operations have supplied quality service to the 
programs so vital to the national defense, general welfare, and 
security to the Nation. The helium operations provide their product for 
numerous state-of-the-art projects that are a far cry from the World 
War I dirigibles that opponents claim as its only means for existence. 
Incidentally, the helium operations in Amarillo began in 1929, several 
years after World War I.
  The Helium Program does not receive Federal appropriations. The 
program operates on the revenues of returning between $7 to $10 million 
per year to the Treasury, even after operating expenses. Since 1990, 
the Bureau of

[[Page H4151]]

Mines has made debt repayments totaling more than $40 million.
  A General Accounting Office study in 1992 recommended that the helium 
debt be canceled since it was characterized as a bookkeeping 
transaction between two Federal agencies, with no impact on the deficit 
or national debt.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that my comments will give my colleagues a better 
understanding of Federal involvement in helium. The national media and 
others have both maligned and misunderstood this program. I have urged 
my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 3008 so that true reform of the 
helium program may become a reality. Sadly, H.R. 3008 will actually 
prevent speedy privatization of the helium operations and prohibit the 
sale of excess helium.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member rises in strong support of 
H.R. 3008, the Helium Privatization Act of 1996. This legislation 
represents a small but important step toward a more commonsense 
approach toward developing the proper role of the Federal Government.
  The Federal Helium Program is clearly an anachronism which deserves 
elimination. While it may have served a purpose during the first part 
of this century, the justification for the Federal Helium Program has 
certainly run out of gas.
  This Member has long recognized the need to eliminate this wasteful 
and nonessential governmental program. In 1993, this Member wrote to 
the President suggesting spending cuts which would help reduce the 
Federal deficit. This list included a proposal to sell the national 
helium reserves as a way to save taxpayer dollars. This Member also 
cosponsored helium privatization legislation introduced by the 
distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] in this Congress as 
well as the previous Congress.
  The healthy private helium industry offers strong evidence that the 
Federal Government should get out of the business. The private sector 
currently provides more than 90 percent of the Nation's helium needs. 
In fact, as a result of the efficiency of the private helium industry, 
the United States now produces eight times more helium than the rest of 
the countries combined. It is unnecessary and improper for the Federal 
Government to retain its current monopoly on the sale of helium to 
Federal agencies.
  H.R. 3008 offers an effective approach toward the privatization of 
the Federal Helium Program. This legislation will save taxpayers money 
by ending the production, refining, and marketing at the Federal helium 
facility in Texas. It will also require the sale of the Federal Helium 
Program's production facilities and other equipment and privatize the 
current helium stockpile. The proceeds from these asset sales will then 
be applied toward the program's massive debt to the taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member urges his colleagues to vote for H.R. 3008, 
the Helium Privatization Act of 1996. It's commonsense legislation 
which will benefit private business and the American taxpayers.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, the recently passed omnibus appropriations 
bill was a historic achievement. With it, Congress significantly 
reduced the Washington bureaucracy. Nearly 200 outdated Federal 
programs were eliminated.
  This was a good first step toward a balanced budget. Now, we must 
maintain this momentum by taking more steps. For instance, we must get 
the Government out of the money-draining helium production business. 
This will save taxpayers nearly $9 million annually--money badly needed 
in far more vital areas of our economy. I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 
3008.
  Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I know of no other Federal program more 
maligned and misunderstood that the Department of Interior, Bureau of 
Mines, helium operations. Many of my colleagues have piled on board to 
eliminate the program. They've heard the clever talking points about 
German zeppelins and toy balloons. Although I know I am in the minority 
on this issue, I hope to set the record straight on a few essential 
points.
  The Federal helium operation is actually one of the few Federal 
programs that has done what it was intended to do. Going from a time 
when there was no helium produced by the private sector, the Helium Act 
has been tremendously successful in helping to develop private sector 
production and a strategic reserve for helium.
  I hope my colleagues and the folks out there listening to this debate 
will reflect on 67 years of dedicated, quality service given this 
country by those who took on a mission in 1929. My colleagues who 
mention the cost to taxpayers for this program are speaking of the 
accumulated interest costs--not the annual cost, which is a net 
positive gain to the U.S. Treasury of $10 million last year alone.
  A legitimate debate has taken place regarding whether or not the 
Federal Government should be in the helium business. Regardless of your 
view, this bill, H.R. 3008, is not the best answer. Here's why: This 
measure effectively prevents private purchase of the helium reserves 
and refinery. It attempts to recoup the Government's investment with a 
formula selling off 100 years worth of helium. But it will do so at a 
price still higher than what its private competitors sell at market.
  The bill is designed--plain and simple--to repay the debt and 
interest on a loan that was made between two Federal agencies. But also 
just as plain and simple, this bill will not privatize the helium 
operations. All of that excess helium will remain unsold.
  However, there is a better, more balanced approach: It was offered by 
another one of our colleagues, Mac Thornberry, during the budget debate 
over this legislation in the Resources Committee. His amendment would 
have allowed some helium to be sold at market price, as long as it did 
not disrupt the market. Adequate helium stockpile would remain for 
national security needs, while ensuring the taxpayer a sufficient 
return on their investment. It would have canceled the bookkeeping debt 
between two Federal agencies. This commonsense substitute is nowhere in 
today's bill. The inclusion of this language into H.R. 3008 would have 
made this measure a better investment for taxpayers. Without a 
balanced, commonsense approach, I cannot support H.R. 3008. I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``no'' so that true reform of the helium program may 
become a reality.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and with that, I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clinger). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3008.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________