[House Report 113-47]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     113-47

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 527) TO AMEND THE HELIUM 
 ACT TO COMPLETE THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE IN A 
COMPETITIVE MARKET FASHION THAT ENSURES STABILITY IN THE HELIUM MARKETS 
  WHILE PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF AMERICAN TAXPAYERS, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

   April 24, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 178]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 178, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 527, the 
Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, under a 
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources. The 
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of 
the bill. The resolution makes in order as original text for 
purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 113-9 and 
provides that it shall be considered as read. The resolution 
waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature 
of a substitute. The resolution makes in order only those 
further amendments printed in this report. Each such amendment 
may be offered only in the order printed in this report, may be 
offered only by a Member designated in this report, shall be 
considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified 
in this report equally divided and controlled by the proponent 
and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall 
not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the 
House or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives 
all points of order against the amendments printed in this 
report. The resolution provides one motion to recommit with or 
without instructions.
    Section 2 of the resolution provides that on each 
legislative day during the period from April 27, 2013, through 
May 3, 2013: the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day 
shall be considered as approved; and the Chair may at any time 
declare the House adjourned to meet at a date and time within 
the limits of clause 4, section 5, article I of the 
Constitution, to be announced by the Chair in declaring the 
adjournment.
    Section 3 of the resolution provides that the Speaker may 
appoint Members to perform the duties of the Chair for the 
duration of the period addressed by section 2 of the resolution 
as though under clause 8(a) of rule I.
    Section 4 of the resolution provides that the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce may, at any time before 5 p.m. on 
Tuesday, April 30, 2013, file a report to accompany H.R. 1406.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the consideration of the bill, the Committee is not aware of 
any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    The waiver of all points of order against the amendment in 
the nature of a substitute made in order as original text 
includes a waiver of clause 4 of rule XXI, which prohibits 
reporting a bill or joint resolution carrying an appropriation 
from a committee not having jurisdiction to report an 
appropriation.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in this report, the Committee is not 
aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in 
nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 26

    Motion by Ms. Slaughter to report an open rule. Defeated: 
2-6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Bishop of Utah..............................          Nay   Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................                Mr. Hastings of Florida...........
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Polis.........................
Mr. Nugent......................................          Nay
Mr. Webster.....................................          Nay
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................          Nay
Mr. Burgess.....................................
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. Collins, Doug (GA), Austin, Scott (GA): Ensures that 
excess funds are used to reduce the annual Federal budget 
deficit. (10 minutes)
    2. Dent (PA), Higgins (NY), Esty, Elizabeth (CT): Seeks to 
ensure the continued supply of helium for end users while 
requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to honor existing 
contracts for the supply and delivery of helium. Affirms that 
the federal government will honor existing contracts that are 
set to expire October 1, 2015. (10 minutes)
    3. Holt (NJ): Considers the long-term future of the Federal 
Helium Reserve by requiring an assessment of how closing the 
Federal Helium Reserve could influence helium availability, 
including options for insuring a reliable helium supply in 
coming decades. (10 minutes)
    4. Thornberry (TX): Affirms the authority of the Secretary 
of the Interior to allow private entities to connect to and 
store helium in the Federal Helium Reserve for an appropriate 
fee. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

 1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Collins of Georgia or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 18, line 14, after ``funds'' insert ``and deficit 
reduction''.
  Page 18, line 18, before the period insert ``and used to 
reduce the annual Federal budget deficit''.
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Dent of Pennsylvania or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 19, after line 17, insert the following:
  (c) Existing Contracts Not Affected.--
          (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act or the 
        amendments made by this Act shall be construed to 
        affect any covered contract between the Bureau of Land 
        Management and any person that owns--
                  (A) helium stored in the Federal Helium 
                Reserve (as that term is used in those 
                amendments); or
                  (B) a helium enrichment unit that is part of 
                the Federal Helium Reserve.
          (2) Covered contract.--In this subsection the term 
        ``covered contract'' means a contract relating to the 
        operation of the Federal Helium Reserve, that is in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
                              ----------                              


 3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Holt of New Jersey or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 27, strike ``and'' at line 6, and after line 6 insert 
the following (and redesignate the subsequent paragraph 
accordingly):
          (4) complete an assessment of options for ensuring a 
        domestic helium supply in the future, including--
                  (A) an analysis of how the Federal Helium 
                Reserve has influenced domestic and global 
                helium supply and prices historically; and
                  (B) an assessment of options for how the 
                Federal Helium Reserve could promote the long 
                term availability and security of domestic 
                helium supplies; and
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Thornberry of Texas or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following:

SEC. __. ADDITIONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.

  The Secretary of the Interior may allow any person not 
connected to the Federal Helium Reserve, as that term is 
defined under section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167), as 
amended by this Act, to connect to the Federal Helium Reserve 
for the purpose of storing helium, subject to such storage fees 
as may be required by the Secretary. Withdrawal of such helium 
shall be governed by that Act.

                                  
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