Political Quotes

“today Senator Murkowski and I are introducing the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013. This legislation is designed to establish a responsible management strategy for the Federal Helium Reserve that will prevent the disruption of the entire helium supply chain that impacts major parts of the U.S. economy. Helium is a valuable national resource that is used for a wide range of applications such as a coolant for magnetic resonance imagining machines, semiconductor manufacturing, military aviation, aerospace, and Federal R&D; pressurizing and purging systems; leak detection; welding; and breathing mixtures. Helium uses are diverse. Substitutes are often unavailable. The current global supply is constrained. The Federal Government has long been in the helium business. In the 1920s, helium was used to float blimps or national defense purposes. Since that time the Federal Government has continued to play a significant role in the production, refining, and storing of helium. This has included establishing a U.S. underground stockpile known as the Federal Helium Reserve located just outside of Amarillo, TX. The Reserve currently supplies 40 percent of the domestic and 30 percent of global helium demand. Eventually, the helium supplies in the Reserve will become too depleted to be used, but for now they provide a critical source of supply.…”