April 26, 2013                                   
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.  20515

Dear Representative,  

You will soon vote on Rep. Doc Hasting’s (R-Wash.) H.R. 527, the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act.  On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support Rep. Charlie Dent’s (R-Pa.) amendment, which would 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.

H.R. 527 would amend the Helium Act to prevent the closure of the Federal Helium Reserve (Reserve), which is scheduled to close by October 2013, and privatize the Reserve by implementing a competitive market-based cost structure.  While CCAGW has long supported privatizing the Reserve, H.R. 527 would institute immediate auctions that would violate existing contracts that private companies have with the BLM.  Adopting Rep. Dent’s amendment would remedy this problem by modifying the proposed auction process to ensure that the federal government upholds its contractual obligations. 

There is bipartisan agreement that the current inexplicable policies governing the Reserve are in dire need of repair.  Adopting Rep. Dent’s amendment will perform a simple fix to an otherwise commendable bill.  I urge you to support Rep. Dent’s amendment.  All votes on H.R. 527 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2013 Congressional Ratings.