[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11268-H11273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HELIUM PRIVATIZATION ACT OF 1996

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4168) 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. 4168

       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.
       ``(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.

[[Page H11269]]

     ``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. LAND CONVEYANCE IN POTTER COUNTY, TEXAS.

       Section 12 is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 12. 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.''.

     SEC. 7. REPORT ON HELIUM.

       Section 15 is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 15. REPORT ON HELIUM.

       ``(a) NAS Study and Report.--Not later than 3 years before 
     the date on which the Secretary commences offering for sale 
     crude helium under section 8, the Secretary shall enter into 
     appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of 
     Sciences to study and report on whether such disposal of 
     helium reserves will have a substantial adverse

[[Page H11270]]

     effect on United States scientific, technical, biomedical, or 
     national security interests.
       ``(b) Transmission to Congress.--Not later than 18 months 
     before the date on which the Secretary commences offering for 
     sale crude helium under section 8, the Secretary shall 
     transmit to the Congress--
       ``(1) the report of the National Academy under subsection 
     (a);
       ``(2) the findings of the Secretary, after consideration of 
     the conclusions of the National Academy under subsection (a) 
     and after consultation with the United States helium industry 
     and with heads of affected Federal agencies, as to whether 
     the disposal of the helium reserve under section 8 will have 
     a substantial adverse effect on the United States helium 
     industry, United States helium market or United States 
     scientific, technological, biomedical, or national security 
     interests; and
       ``(3) if the Secretary determines that selling the crude 
     helium reserves under the formula established in section 8 
     will have a substantial adverse effect on the United States 
     helium industry, the United States helium market or United 
     States scientific, technological, biomedical, or national 
     security interest, the Secretary shall make recommendations, 
     including recommendations for proposed legislation, as may be 
     necessary to avoid such adverse effects.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Alaska [Mr. Young] and the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young].
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
4168. This bill is similar to previous passed legislation, H.R. 3008, 
which sailed through this body earlier this year with bipartisan 
support by a vote of 411 to 10. This legislation includes language 
negotiated in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to 
provide a National Academy of Sciences study on how to dispose of the 
helium reserve.
  We bring this measure before the House again today because of the 
limited amount of time remaining in the 104th Congress. By passing this 
version of the bill, the Senate can act on the same measure and the 
bill can go directly to the President for signature.
  This bill 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 
colleague, Mr. Cox, for his tireless efforts to bring this important 
bill to the floor. I also want to thank my colleague on the Committee 
on Resources, Mac Thornberry, in whose district the helium reserve is 
located and whose constituents are affected by the loss of jobs at the 
facility. Mr. Thornberry worked diligently through the committee 
process to find the best solution for his constituents, offered 
privatization alternatives to the plan closure, and pushed for 
reconsideration of how to conduct the sale of the helium reserve.
  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.
  Ensure repayment of the helium debt.
  And, protect our domestic helium industry from undue disruption by 
the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie].
  (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, before I begin I want to say that I had 
the opportunity, in fact the privilege, of being in the Committee on 
Ways and Means the other day when the portrait of Mr. Young was 
unveiled. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank him for his 
untiring efforts on behalf of the causes associated with the Committee 
on Resources. Regardless, Mr. Speaker, of what one's views might or 
might not be on any given issue, one can always count on the fact that 
in dealing with Chairman Young we are dealing with a man of 
unquestioned integrity, whose commitment to this Nation and to the 
Committee on Resources has been unfailing. I want to say to him, Mr. 
Young, that one of the singular privileges of my political life has 
been to serve with you.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise, with certain regrets, in support of H.R. 4168, a 
bill to close the Federal Helium Program. 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.
  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.
  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 
production. For this reason, groups such as the National Taxpayers 
Union, the 20/20 TV program, the Interior Department inspector general, 
and the Heritage Foundation have called for its elimination.

  H.R. 4168, like its predecessor H.R. 3008 in this Congress and H.R. 
3967 in the 103d Congress, enjoys bipartisan support. While I did not 
support termination of the program, I recognize that, 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 a consequence of our decision.
  During 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--men and 
women--who through no fault of their own find themselves working for a 
Federal program targeted for downsizing. My amendment would have given 
these people help in addition to what the Secretary is already 
authorized to provide. The same kind of help that we have provided 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 could not be persuaded to provide 
this type of much-needed aid. During committee debate, my colleague, 
Representative Calvert argued that the Secretary already has the 
authority to provide these benefits. This is simply incorrect. 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; current law does not provide for this protection. My 
amendment would have given Federal helium employees hiring preference 
governmentwide--not just in the Amarillo area as is provided for under 
existing law.
  So, my amendment failed. And even though I agreed with my colleague, 
Representative Mac Thornberry, that we don't need to terminate this 
program, I could see that the 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 had served 20 years, take an early out and retire from 
civil service. But, this was not to be.
  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 payments. The CBO said that my 
amendment would have 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 war 
clear to help their fellow public servants.

[[Page H11271]]

  And so, today, we will pass H.R. 4168 under suspension of the rules 
so we can praise ourselves for making Government smaller. I just wish 
we could have done so in a more humane and compassionate manner. I am 
somewhat consoled by the information that provision for unemployment 
benefits has been included in the Interior appropriations conference 
report.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4168, the Helium Act of 1966, is very similar to a 
bill that I, along with former Representative Richard Lehman and 
Representative Vucanovich supported during the 103d Congress. H.R. 4168 
is almost indistinguishable to the bill the House passed earlier this 
year, with our support. H.R. 4168, as I understand it, is identical to 
the bill recently favorably reported by the Senate Energy Committee, 
with several inconsequential changes. By passing this bill today, we 
will make it possible for the Senate to finish action on this bill 
should the House adjourn prior to completion of business in the other 
Chamber.
  H.R. 4168, like its predecessors in this Congress and the 103d 
Congress, is a bipartisan good Government bill to get the Federal 
Government out of the helium business.
  While many people don't realize that helium is used in the Space 
Shuttle Program, in Star Wars research, for cryogenics and magnetic 
resonance imaging, there is still no overriding need for the Federal 
Government to continue its role in the helium business. The now defunct 
Bureau of Mines began its helium program during World War I as an 
effort to assure the Government of an adequate supply of helium at a 
time when there was no private helium production.
  Currently, 32 billion cubic feet of helium are stockpiled in an 
underground dome northwest of Amarillo, TX. Estimates suggest that this 
amount will safely cover Federal needs for over a century.
  Today, the private sector produces over 90 percent of the helium 
supplies in the United States. But, because Federal agencies are 
required to purchase helium from the Bureau, the Government continues 
top operate the helium recovery and purification facility in Amarillo, 
TX. Unfortunately, these facilities are outmoded, in need of constant 
repair, and are not nearly as efficient as private facilities. The 
General Accounting Office, the inspector general of the Department of 
Interior, the Taxpayers Union and the Helium Advisory Council have 
called for reform of the helium program.
  In recognition of these factors, we have supported legislation which 
would get the Federal Government out of the helium business without 
creating a fire sale of the crude helium in the stockpile. The bill 
before us eliminates the Federal Government helium refining and 
production enterprise. Federal agencies would be allowed to purchase 
helium from the lowest bidder. The stockpile would be maintained until 
no later than 2014 to allow other reserves to be depleted and to ensure 
that Federal helium will receive the optimum price when sold and that 
such sales will not disrupt the private market.
  I am saddened that the bill was not amended to provide adequate 
assistance for those employees that, through no fault of their own, 
will find themselves unemployed with the closing of this program. 
However, I understand that the fiscal year 1997 Interior appropriations 
conference report contains provision for unemployment benefits for 
these employees.
  At a time of shrinking resources and rising costs, it only makes 
sense to eliminate this unnecessary Government function. We have no 
objections to passage of H.R. 4168 under suspension of the rules.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from California [Mr. Cox], sponsor of the legislation.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding 
me the time.
  I am sorry that we are back on the floor with this bill. This is the 
third time that the House of Representatives will vote to pass this 
bill. The last time we did so with 411 votes. There are only 435 
Members that work here and some of them could not make the vote.
  There is no question but that the people's House wishes to see this 
legislation enacted into law. Quite frankly, there is not really any 
objection to it from the other body. But for 2 years now, we have 
waited and waited and waited, and at the present time there are two of 
our colleagues in the other body who have a hold on this bill. It has 
been taken hostage for other reasons and so on.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ewing). The gentleman will refrain from 
characterizing action or inaction of the Senate.
  Mr. COX of California. I do not mean to characterize the action, Mr. 
Speaker, only to describe it.
  The reason that we are here is that we want to make sure that this 
bill has every chance of passage during the 104th Congress, and so the 
bill that we are taking up is only slightly different than the one that 
we passed last time. The difference is the change that has been made in 
the other body. The bill that we are bringing up here is thus identical 
to the bill that has already been reported out of the committee 
completely favorably in the other body. If, therefore, we vote to pass 
this legislation, it remains only for the other body to take a vote and 
the bill will go directly to the President.
  This is a serious subject. Helium is, of course, a scarce resource. 
It occurs naturally as a byproduct of natural gas. We know that at 
least in that form it occurs in finite quantities. We have to, 
therefore, make sure that we conserve it. Currently under Federal 
Government management, we are losing to the atmosphere a great deal of 
helium. Each year it escapes because we do not store and transport it 
properly. Furthermore, the Federal Government is in the business still 
of marketing helium. What this bill will do is get the Federal 
Government out of the marketing and refining business and leave that to 
the private sector where, incidentally, 90 percent of the world's 
helium supply already comes from.
  The Federal Government is no longer needed for this purpose. I say no 
longer because there was a time, back in the 1920's, when we first came 
up with the idea for the Federal Government to be in this business. 
When there was a legitimate purpose for national security reasons, the 
Federal Government got into the helium business to make sure we had a 
captive and constant source of supply to field a fleet of blimps in 
time of war. That time has passed. We do not any longer need helium to 
field blimps in time of war. Instead, we need helium for magnetic 
resonance imaging, we need helium for undersea welding and untold other 
uses that science, not Government, is best equipped to deal with.
  Instead of relying on the Federal Government to operate a commercial 
industry of this source, we should rely on the private sector on which 
we rely for all other minerals, strategic or otherwise, in our commerce 
and in our national defense.
  There is a legitimate question about how best to conserve helium in 
the future and one of the changes, the only change from our House bill 
that made its way into this bill in the Senate, is that we will have 
the National Academy of Science conduct a formal inquiry into this 
aspect of the helium question. But it is no longer, as my colleague on 
the other side of the aisle just pointed out, it is no longer a 
partisan question whether we should have the national helium reserve. 
We ought not to. Incidentally, it loses money. It is wasteful. Its debt 
to the taxpayers is now $1.4 billion. It has been unable to pay back 
the debt to the taxpayers on a constant basis as was contemplated in 
1960, when the taxpayers loaned the Government commercial enterprise a 
whole lot of money. By turning ownership and management of this over to 
the private sector, we can recapture the taxpayers' investment.
  One final point. That is that some are concerned that because helium 
is important, we should not in any way change the way we presently are 
doing business in the Federal Government. Physicists in particular 
understand the fundamental law of conservation of matter. When title to 
this helium changes from government to private sector, the helium will 
not go away. It will still be there. In fact, it will be

[[Page H11272]]

there for many, many, decades, in fact well into the next century to 
come.
  I think it is vitally important that we end this poster child of 
Government waste once and for all. I congratulate my colleagues for 
their patience and tolerance for bringing this bill up for what will 
probably be another unanimous vote for the third time this session. It 
is what our form of government is all about.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Michigan [Mr. Ehlers].
  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alaska for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, it was with some surprise that I saw this bill suddenly 
up on the agenda again, without committee action, and I am sorry I did 
not have more time to prepare and discuss it with the bill's sponsor. 
This bill did go through the House several months ago and I was 
tangentially involved in the discussion. At that time I was also 
surprised because it had popped up on the floor without having, to the 
best of my knowledge, gone through committee.
  At that time I was told that the scientific societies' concerns and 
scientists' concerns had been taken care of. I found out later they 
were not, and I regret that I voted for the bill on false information I 
was given.
  But I did want to point out that, even though this bill is certainly 
better than the one that passed this body a few months ago, now that 
the Senate amendment is included, I still have a serious reservation 
about the entire topic.
  As has been mentioned here, helium has tremendous uses in the 
scientific world. We continue to find more all along. The difficulty 
is, it is a very limited resource. It is found in economically feasible 
quantities only in certain gas fields in this country. If we do not 
recover it at the time that the gas is pumped out of the ground, that 
helium is lost because it is simply pumped out with the gas. When the 
gas is burned, the helium goes into the atmosphere.

  Helium is used in medicine. It is used in scientific research. It is 
used in transmission power lines in certain special instances. It is 
used in large superconducting magnets for many research facilities. It 
is used in the space program. Most recently it has been used in the 
discovery of the fifth state of matter. Most of us, when we were in 
school, learned about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, 
gaseous. Later we discovered that there is a fourth state: plasma. We 
know have a fifth state of matter, which was postulated by Bose and 
Einstein nearly a century ago, and was finally just discovered within 
the past year, at micro-degrees Kelvin temperature, a temperature which 
can only be achieved with liquid helium under a pumped condition.
  This will lead to a whole new frontier of science, and there are many 
other unknown frontiers which are yet to be discovered using helium, 
particularly in the liquid form. So it is a very, very special 
material; and in particular once it is used, it is lost to the 
atmosphere. It cannot be recovered economically. Furthermore, because 
of its lightness and the speed of motion of its atoms within the 
atmosphere, it is lost into space more readily than the other gases in 
the atmosphere.
  The economics that make this issue so difficult at this time occur 
because there is still relative abundant supply, and it is not 
economically feasible to recover all that we could recover. 
Furthermore, we have to recover it from the natural gases which possess 
the largest quantities of helium, because other natural gases do not 
have as much and it would be more expensive to recover from those. This 
is why the Government got in the business in the first place.
  I am certainly in sympathy with the intents of the sponsor and others 
who want to get the Government out of the business, but the economics 
are such at this time that if we are not careful we will lose vast 
quantities of helium, not from our use but from the use of the next 
generation and generations beyond. And that would be extremely tragic 
because it is absolutely irreplaceable.
  I hope no one in the House of Representatives hopes that somehow 
there will be a new technological invention of some sort that will 
replace helium. It simply cannot happen. Helium is a distinct entity of 
matter. There is only a certain amount of helium on this planet. We 
have to make sure it is used wisely, and we should not use it for 
blimps. We should not even use it for helium-filled balloons. We should 
try to conserve it for the future. What concerns me is that I have no 
assurance under this bill that this will be taken into account.
  I do welcome the amendment that calls for the study by the National 
Academy of Sciences. I believe that is a good step to take. However, 
the decision is still finally going to be made by the Secretary of the 
Interior. We have no idea who the Secretary of the Interior might be at 
that time and whether or not that person will have an adequate 
knowledge and understanding of the scientific aspects of helium use to 
make a wise and intelligent decision.
  I would feel much better, frankly, if we simply commissioned the 
National Academy study, and then had the issue come back to the House 
once again for debate and review.
  Having said that, the dilemma we face now is that the bill is before 
us. We have to make a decision. I urge all Members of the House to 
consider these factors very carefully, very thoughtfully, and vote 
accordingly. I have great reservations about this bill and I hope that 
we look at the issue very carefully before passing it.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4168, 
which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into 
agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium 
on Federal lands.
  As we all know, the House approved similar legislation earlier this 
year with the passage of H.R. 3008. H.R. 4168 is the same bill as H.R. 
3008 with one exception--it includes a provision directing the National 
Academy of Science to study and report on whether such disposal of 
helium reserves will have a substantial adverse effect on the 
scientific, technical, biomedical, or national interests of the United 
States.
  While I agree in principle with the goal of this provision and, in 
fact, have my own concerns about the effect selling the Federal helium 
reserves will have on the private market and our national security, I 
think the legislation in which it is included is fundamentally flawed 
and should be defeated.
  Even if one believes that the Federal Government ought to get out of 
the helium business, this is the wrong way to do it. In many areas over 
the past few months and years, this Congress and, to a lesser extent, 
the administration through its Reinventing Government efforts, have 
tried to get the Government out of certain activities. In doing so, 
they have both tried to turn those activities over to the private 
sector.
  Unfortunately, H.R. 4168 would create a situation in which 
privatization is not a feasible economic alternative. This bill 
effectively prevents an individual or company from buying the 
Government assets and operating the helium refinery which the 
Government has operated all these years. As a result, what could have 
been a revenue generator for the Federal Government will actually 
continue to drain treasury coffers for the benefit of those companies 
already involved in the business of helium sales.
  I would remind my colleagues that while NASA currently requires 
several railroad cars of helium for each shuttle launch, it can only 
take it in gaseous form. No private company can supply it in gaseous 
form. Consequently, if H.R. 4168 passes, we're going to have to spend a 
lot of money to modify facilities to accept the helium as a liquid and 
then convert it to a gas.
  Common sense would be to allow a private company to buy the refinery 
and some helium from the stockpile to supply NASA and others. 
Unfortunately, this cannot happen under this bill.
  I have had several people from my district express an interest in 
either buying the refinery and some helium and trying to operate the 
plant, or buying some of the helium and building a new, modern refinery 
that is much smaller. But there is no realistic opportunity of either 
of those things happening because of the formula used by this bill to 
sell helium.
  Virtually everyone agrees that we have more helium in the ground than 
we need. This bill requires the excess helium to be sold according to a 
formula that is designed to pay back the debt and interest that one 
part of the Government owes another part of the Government. The 
difficulty is that none of the helium will be sold because the formula 
prices it far higher than the market price.
  As a matter of fact, this bill will price crude helium about $8 to 
$13 million cubic feet more

[[Page H11273]]

than the current market price. Mr. Cox may say there is no specific 
language which prohibits sales from the stockpile, but when it is 
priced 25 to 48 percent above the market price, I doubt there will be 
much sold. So not only can we not privatize the helium operation, but 
the taxpayers will not see the deficit go down because none of the 
helium will be sold.
  The substitute which I offered in the House Resources Committee would 
still get the Government out of the helium business. But it would also 
allow some helium to be sold according to the market price at the time 
it was sold, as long as it did not disrupt the market. It would have 
also canceled the debt, which consists mainly of compound interest 
which one part of the Government owes another part of the Government. 
And it would have delayed closure of the plant for 3 years, not 18 
months, which would have provided additional time not only for NASA to 
transition to private sources of helium, but for the plant's workers to 
transition to new jobs and careers. This plan was similar to the 
proposal suggested by the Clinton administration, and makes a lot more 
sense than the proposal we are considering today.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't know if we're serious about doing this the right 
way or just interested in a press release. I don't know if the 
President was serious about doing this the right way when he mentioned 
helium in his State of the Union speech in 1995. But I do know that 
there is a right way and a wrong way to end this Federal program, and 
this bill is the wrong way.
  The House registered its clear opposition to continued Federal 
funding of the helium program when it approved H.R. 3008 by a vote of 
411-10 on April 30 of this year. I do not plan to request a vote on 
H.R. 4168.
  But I do urge my colleagues to remember that in considering the 
future of other programs, we ought to strive to make the Federal 
Government not just smaller--but smarter, as well.
  This bill is not a smart way to reform the helium program, and for 
that reason, I oppose it.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4168.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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