The U.S. just sold its helium stockpile.

[JGalt]

This has been keeping me up at night. Hopefully, it gets settled.

I'm especially going to miss those party balloons they sell at the Dollar Store.

And breathing the helium from the balloon and talking like a duck.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Where did you get that vote number? It's not in the link.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/527/all-actions?overview=closed&q=%7B%22roll-call-vote%22%3A%22all%22%7D

 

[Rogue AI]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/527/all-actions?overview=closed&q=%7B%22roll-call-vote%22%3A%22all%22%7D

My problem with this is that ten years ago the global supply was stable. Given the current events the situation has changed. Biden gives China and Russia a win and Democrats cheer. This is a bad idea given we are trying to revitalize chip production in this country, the costs go up just as the risks rise in Taiwan. The medical implications are secondary in the long run. This bill should be killed and the process started again to reflect the situation on the ground.

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/527/all-actions?overview=closed&q=%7B%22roll-call-vote%22%3A%22all%22%7D

Well now! Notice that it was Republican Senators Cruz of Texas and Sessions of Alabama who voted against, and Republican Senator Rubio did not vote. These are particularly ambitious men with big proven ambitions to be federal “leaders,” opportunists who often sniff out possible issues of advantage. Perhaps they fear that Trump might pounce on this issue one day as a sellout by “RINOs” … just to force other Republican Senators into criticing themselves and proving their loyalty to him? That would be oh so “Trumpian”!

 

[Rogue AI]

Well now! Notice that it was Republican Senators Cruz of Texas and Sessions of Alabama who voted against, and Republican Senator Rubio did not vote. These are particularly ambitious men with big proven ambitions to be federal “leaders,” opportunists who often sniff out possible issues of advantage. Perhaps they fear that Trump might pounce on this issue one day as a sellout by “RINOs” … just to force other Republican Senators into criticing themselves and proving their loyalty to him? That would be oh so “Trumpian”!

Not likely, the vote was in 2013.

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

Not likely, the vote was in 2013.

Good point.

 

[surada]

The U.S. just sold its helium stockpile. Here’s why the medical world is worried.

On Thursday, the U.S. government sold the Federal Helium Reserve, a massive underground stockpile based in Amarillo, Texas, that supplies up to 30% of the country’s helium.

www.yahoo.com

On Thursday, the U.S. government sold the Federal Helium Reserve, a massive underground stockpile based in Amarillo, Texas, that supplies up to 30% of the country’s helium.

Once the deal is finalized, the buyer — which will likely be the highest bidder, the industrial gas company Messer — will claim some 425 miles of pipelines spanning Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, plus about 1 billion cubic feet of the only element on Earth cold enough to make an MRI machine work.

So, I can admit I did not even know the Fed Govt had a helium stockpile. Turns out it goes all the way back to 1925.

Either way in 2013 congress passed a law that the Govt had to sell it all off, and that is finally being done, only a couple years later than the bill required.

It should be noted this bill passed the Senate with a vote of 97-2 and the House 394-1. The two no votes in the Senate were Repubs and the lone no vote in the House was a Dem.

Programs: Energy and Minerals: Helium: About Federal Helium Program | Bureau of Land Management

www.blm.gov

The Act required the Department of the Interior, through the Director of the BLM, to offer for sale, beginning in 2014, a portion of the conservation helium stored underground at the Cliffside Field north of Amarillo. The directed sale of helium was completed by October 1 2018, reaching the targeted value of 3 billion cubic feet of federal stored helium on that date.

As directed by the HSA, the BLM transferred the Federal Helium System as surplus property to GSA by September 30, 2021. Details related to the sale of the Federal Helium System can be found at the GSA Property Sales site.

 

[surada]

To be honest, I knew that it was slated to be sold in the Clinton years, I didn't know that they still hadn't done it!

Probably because it's cheaper to buy helium on the open market than pay the government's overhead.

The Act required the Department of the Interior, through the Director of the BLM, to offer for sale, beginning in 2014, a portion of the conservation helium stored underground at the Cliffside Field north of Amarillo.

The directed sale of helium was completed by October 1 2018, reaching the targeted value of 3 billion cubic feet of federal stored helium on that date. As directed by the HSA, the BLM transferred the Federal Helium System as surplus property to GSA by September 30, 2021. Details related to the sale of the Federal Helium System can be found at the GSA Property Sales site.

Programs: Energy and Minerals: Helium: About Federal Helium Program | Bureau of Land Management

www.blm.gov

 

[Moonglow]

Signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996.

Helium Privatization Act of 1996 - Wikipedia

But the CCP will he happy to buy it up for their spy balloons.

I am sure they wish they were living in a nation that produces more helium than the rest of the world like the US does.

 

[theHawk]

yet you still find a way to attack the current Admin for doing it,

You just said nearly all Senators voted for it. Biden was a Senator since 1973 and of course VP 2009-17.

Who is to blame for all the moronic shit Congress has done over the last several decades if not Joe Biden?

He has always been an establishment stooge that votes for what they want.

 

[JGalt]

I am sure they wish they were living in a nation that produces more helium than the rest of the world like the US does.

Why would China even need to produce any helium? We'll gladly sell them all they want, thanks for the 10% for the Big Guy.

Those Chinese spy balloons aren't going to inflate themselves.

 

[surada]

You just said nearly all Senators voted for it. Biden was a Senator since 1973 and of course VP 2009-17.

Who is to blame for all the moronic shit Congress has done over the last several decades if not Joe Biden?

He has always been an establishment stooge that votes for what they want.

See post #29.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I guess if you are a paranoid loon, that's how you would see it.

In the real world, a government program was extended for 60 years after its practical use ended, and it took another 30 to find a buyer for the excess material that they were stockpiling.

Yet we still have a Federal rural electrification department

 

[Moonglow]

Why would China even need to produce any helium? We'll gladly sell them all they want, thanks for the 10% for the Big Guy.

Those Chinese spy balloons aren't going to inflate themselves.

You can buy it all over the place that is correct, the US produces more helium than all other nations in the world.

 

[JoeB131]

Yet we still have a Federal rural electrification department

Okay. Do you think the rural areas would remained electrified if there wasn't an agency for it?

I have a fishing cabin in Northern Wisconsin. We lose electricity on a fairly regular basis.

 

[Vastator]

With some cursory research, it would appear, the billionaire donors to both parties. . . BIG PHARMA & Silicon Valley desire this commodity. . . so, they are funding the pols on both sides of the aisle for this agenda. . .

Just a hunch.

16 Uses of Helium That One Must Know - Techiescientist

Have you heard of the element that is so light that it can actually escape the gravity of earth?

techiescientist.com

". .. .The various uses of Helium, along with the percentage of total helium production used for this purpose is as follows:

• Cryogenics – 32%

• Controlled atmosphere – 18%

• Pressurizing and Purging – 18%

• Welding – 13%

• Leak Detection – 4%

• Breathing Mixtures – 2%

• Other uses – 13%

In this section, we will study various uses of Helium in detail.

Let’s begin.

Cryogenics​

When it is cooled below Tλ, helium forms Bose-Einstein Condensate, in which the atoms are said to lose their energy, virtually. It is due to the weak intermolecular reactions and low molecular weight of helium.

The cryogenic properties of helium are utilized for the following purposes:

1. Superconductor​

In particle accelerators, superconducting magnets are used when large magnetic fields are required. To maintain the efficiency of these superconductors, the temperatures must be below the critical temperature.

Superfluid helium is especially found efficient in removing heat from these superconductors.

2. Quantum Computing​

Quantum computing requires the quantum states of matter, for example, electron spin, as a single qubit (quantum analog of bit).

These qubits are a representation of the electrons, ions, or atoms themselves, along with the control devices that function as a processor and memory of computers.

The electrons present on the surface of superfluid helium, in a vacuum, exhibit spin states required for this purpose.

3. X-ray Crystallography​

The high-energy X-ray crystallography is used for obtaining high-resolution images of protein structures.

However, they are also known to cause damage to these proteins. The radical damage to protein structures can be prevented using cryogenic helium.. . . "

Helium Shortage Is Hurting Parties and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Party City announced last Thursday it was closing 45 stores

time.com

Doctors are worried as the world is running out of helium; here is why

Liquid helium is important for the functioning of MRI machines and without helium, doctors would lose a critical medical tool.

www.cnbctv18.com

Helium Wars: Why Are Tech Giants Fighting Over This Rare Gas?​

Helium Wars: Why Are Tech Giants Fighting Over This Rare Gas?

What battery metals are to gigafactories, helium is to everything from scientific research, medical technology and high-tech manufacturing to space exploration and national defense

finance.yahoo.com

I hope it doesn't make helium harder to get in the private sector. Helium really steps up velocities in PCP air rifles.