Posted on 05/01/2013 11:36:08 PM PDT by JerseyanExile
President Ronald Reagan tried to get rid of it. So did President Bill Clinton. This October, their wish is finally set to come true.
The Federal Helium Program left over from the age of zeppelins and an infamous symbol of Washingtons inability to cut what it no longer needs will be terminated.
Unless it isnt.
On Friday, in fact, the House voted 394 to 1 to keep it alive.
The problem is that the private sector has not done what some politicians predicted it would step into a role that government was giving up. The Federal Helium Program sells vast amounts of the gas to U.S. companies that use it in everything from party balloons to MRI machines.
If the government stops, no one else is ready. There are fears of shortages.
So Congress faces an awkward task. In a time of austerity, it may reach back into the past and undo a rare victory for downsizing government.
The program at the center of this debate has its origins after World War I, in a kind of arms race that sounds ridiculous now. In Europe, countries such as Germany were building sturdy, if slow, inflatable airships. The U.S. military was worried about a blimp gap.
So Congress ordered a stockpile of helium to help American dirigibles catch up. It was assumed to be a temporary arrangement.
As soon as private companies produce [helium], the government will, perhaps, withdraw? asked Rep. Don Colton (R-Utah) during the House debate.
That is correct, said Rep. Fritz Lanham (D-Tex.).
That was in 1925.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Wow.
So much for that two party system and the GOPe being on our side, they are never going to cut anything
Can we get rid of the phone tax from the early 1900’s too? Or the rural electrical program?
How much are we wasting in salaries for overpaid, underworked bureaucrats?
And comedians with that high-pitched voice...
The problem is they GIVE it to industry and commerce. If they would start charging more, THEN the market would step in.
Idiot bureaucrats.
Such BS...as soon as the government gets out of the way, private companies will step up to make the money.
Helium? Really? Between that idiot that thought Guam would tip over saying “our kids won’t bet balloons” to that insane Harry Reid whining about $50k for “cowboy poetry” it becomes clear DC is more out of control than ever.
Sometimes I think I won’t mind if some crazy terrorist nuke it.
I’m not saying the government needs to subsidize the He business, but this author is an absolute idiot if he thinks the only thing He is used for is balloons. Currently it is the only way to access truly cryogenic temperatures (4K) and below. This is critically important to almost all solid state physics research and development. Furthermore, once it leaves the atmosphere, there’s no getting it back.
The problem for private industry is the unknown.
Will the EPA rule Helium a greenhouse gas once industry spends the bucks to take over production?
Will OSHA rule it as toxic and cancer causing?
Will on site monitoring of midge flies be required?
The regulatory machine in this country is totally out of control, freezing large scale economic development.
Hats off to someone with the facts.
Class A - Dirigible
Class B - Limp
“Why the world is running out of helium”
A US law means supplies of the gas a vital component of MRI scanners are vanishing fast.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-the-world-is-running-out-of-helium-2059357.html
Helim comes up with oil.
Once it’s in the atmosphere—it’s GONE! As in—NOT recoverable.
That’s the problem.
Helium is cryogenically distilled out of natural gas to produce the helium we put in balloons.
I would wager there are two issues here at the heart of all this. First, with our rapid rising of natural gas production from fracking, the government is afraid of losing that control of a marketable product. As it is also a residual of atomic energy, increasing our footprint in that regard would also cut into their little pie.
Helium comes only from 14 gas wells in the US. That’s it. It is quite rare in the atmosphere as it simply floats away into space.
This is a much bigger issue than it first appears.
That's what I hear. I think it's amazing that it's that rare, and yet there is enough of it for use in transitory consumer goods.
This is a much bigger issue than it first appears.
I'm wondering how much of the current pricing of He is related to the government interferance in the market. I'm betting it's significant.
The government interference has set the price too low.
Very, very few natural gas fields contain helium. While it is produced from natural gas, it is a very select source of natural gas.
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