From high-tech manufacturing to hospitals and scientific labs – our economy and lives in the 21st century are dependent on this lighter-than-air gas. Helium is essential to the manufacturing of computer chips and fiber optic cables, is used by hospitals for life-saving medical tests like an MRI, and is critical to national defense efforts.

The House Committee on Natural Resources has worked hard this Congress to ensure that the U.S. has a stable supply of helium for the future.

In October 2013, the President signed into law bipartisan legislation (H.R. 527, the Helium Stewardship Act) to prevent a helium shortage that would have occurred last year if the Federal Helium Reserve abruptly closed, as scheduled. This closure would have immediately cut off half of our domestic helium supply and 30 percent of the world’s helium supply while threatening American jobs and innovation. H.R. 527 preserves our Nation’s helium supply and closes the helium reserve over the next decade.

The Committee is now focused on the next steps of growing and expanding our domestic helium production. A longer term solution is needed to secure our nation’s helium supplies beyond the life of the helium reserve. The goal is to secure, streamline, and improve domestic helium production on federal lands and ensure that businesses and industries continue to have access to the helium they need to keep our U.S. economy competitive and growing.

Visit http://naturalresources.house.gov/legislation/helium to learn more about H.R. 527.