Today, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) sent a letter to U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze raising concerns with the BLM’s implementation of the Helium Stewardship Act (HSA), which passed Congress on a bipartisan basis and was signed into law on October 2, 2013.

“Congress carefully crafted the HSA in a bipartisan manner that would ensure competitive access for all stakeholders to the federal helium supply.  However, we are concerned that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s interpretation of the HSA has led to results counter to the intent of the Act,” the letter states.

The Federal Helium Reserve, which is managed by BLM, was created in 1960 in part to ensure the federal government had an adequate stockpile of helium during the Cold War.  The Reserve was scheduled to close in October 2013, an event that would have adversely affected a range of economic sectors dependent on helium, including both the defense and medical industries. The HSA prevented the closure of the Reserve and instituted market-based reforms to increase competition in federal helium sales.

“Rather than moving toward increased market competition of helium, BLM’s implementation of the HSA has unfortunately resulted in less,” the Committee leaders write.  Indeed, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report on the BLM’s implementation of the HSA found the number of companies purchasing helium for fiscal year 2015 decreased by 50 percent.

“Through competition, the HSA was designed to ensure greater access to federal helium by additional parties and a better return to taxpayers for the sale of that helium. The BLM’s current interpretations of the Act, however, could potentially lead to results contrary to those goals,” the letter states. “We hope that you will act to ensure that the federal helium program is managed in accordance with the full intent of the HSA.”

In acknowledgement of the BLM’s recent Federal Register notice, “Crude Helium Sale and Auction for Fiscal Year 2016 Delivery,” the leaders request a prompt reply from the BLM addressing the concerns highlighted by the letter. 

Click here to view the full letter.