The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 required the selling off the federal helium reserve by 2015 to compensate the government for its investment in the stockpile in Texas. The act arranged for Cliffside Refiners, LP - a coalition of four refining facilities - to be the sole buyers of the US federal reserve of helium. It also set the price of helium at what was 25% above the commercial price. The price has gone up and now the federal government helium is the cheapest in the world, saturating the market with inexpensive helium.

One of the biggest problems with selling the helium reserve is the fact that helium is a non-renewable resource used within the medical community to run MRI machines. Helium goes through a cryogenic process and is liquefied when used in MRI machines. Its special properties allow for no substitutes. We hope to make helium available at a price that accurately reflects its scarcity and importance. We also hope to encourage more research into the recycling of helium and the means of producing or harvesting helium.

Our campaign’s goal is to promote new legislation to increase the amount of helium preserved in the Federal Helium Reserve and allocate more of the reserve to public and private scientific research.