September 24, 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative,

Tomorrow, under the suspension of the rules, the House of Representatives will consider a major alteration of the Federal Helium Program, adopting elements of H.R. 527, the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings (R- Wash.), and S. 783, the Helium Stewardship Act, sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to oppose this ill-advised compromise.

The proposed compromise bill will impose new bureaucratic requirements and regulations to benefit special political interests and projects, specifically undermining the long- standing support of CCAGW and its members to privatize the Federal Helium Program. The bill would also generate unnecessary, costly red tape around the closure of the helium reserve. Alternatively, leaving the current Helium Program in place would produce $150 million in revenue for taxpayers in 2014.

In case you missed it, Citizens Against Government Waste sponsored an ad in the September 16 and 17 editions of The Hill newspaper. The ad noted that, rather than going to the Treasury to help reduce the deficit, the money from helium sales would be re-directed to members’ parochial interests, such as reduced royalty rates for soda ash and abandoned mine remediation, as well as National Park Service maintenance.

I urge you to vote ‘NO’ on the compromise helium bill and instead act to preserve the current, commonsense framework for winding down the Federal Helium Program. All votes on H.R. 527 and S. 783, as well as any compromises between the two, will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2013 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely, 

Thomas A. Schatz, President 

​