Averting the Helium Cliff

September 11, 2013

Congress has just six legislative days to approve legislation preventing the shutdown of the federal helium reserve operated in Amarillo, Texas by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

It’s really a no-brainer.

Helium benefits Americans who need MRIs (it is necessary to operate the machines), and the crucial gas plays a major role in the fabrication of semiconductors produced by high-tech manufacturers such as Texas Instruments, Intel, Samsung, Siemens, Qualcomm and General Electric. It is also vital for conducting research in many scientific fields.

If Congress fails to pass legislation averting the reserve shutdown, a loss of helium could hurt jobs and the U.S. economy, delay MRI treatments and cripple scientific research.

Supporters of legislation, including scientific societies, high-tech industries and universities, recently wrote to House and Senate leaders, asking them to approve legislation and send it to the president before Oct. 1.

The smart thing to do is to get the legislation passed before it’s too late.

The following is the letter to House and Senate leaders:

Sept. 9, 2013

The Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the House
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Pelosi, Leader Reid and Leader McConnell:

The undersigned companies and organizations, representing a broad range of U.S. industry and research entities that contribute to America’s economic and scientific leadership, request that Congress act urgently to approve legislation to secure the helium supply and send this legislation to the President before October 1.

Helium is an essential input into large number of manufacturing processes and a key material for the scientific research community, and a significant number of jobs, economic output, and exports from the United States depend on a continuous supply of helium. Helium is also critical to products and systems that support our national defense and homeland security, and it is needed to operate the thousands of MRI devices that play a key role in our health care system.

Congress must act immediately to avert a shortage of this essential commodity. Under existing law, the Federal Helium Reserve – a federal facility that provides approximately 50 percent of domestic supplies of helium – will no longer be authorized after October 7 to sell to private entities that help drive our economy. The House has overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill (H.R. 527), and the Senate is considering bipartisan legislation (S. 783). It is imperative that Congress act in advance of this deadline.

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