[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.
____________________