[House Report 113-47]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-47
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 527) TO AMEND THE HELIUM
ACT TO COMPLETE THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE IN A
COMPETITIVE MARKET FASHION THAT ENSURES STABILITY IN THE HELIUM MARKETS
WHILE PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF AMERICAN TAXPAYERS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
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April 24, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Rules,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 178]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 178, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be
adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 527, the
Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, under a
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources. The
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of
the bill. The resolution makes in order as original text for
purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 113-9 and
provides that it shall be considered as read. The resolution
waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature
of a substitute. The resolution makes in order only those
further amendments printed in this report. Each such amendment
may be offered only in the order printed in this report, may be
offered only by a Member designated in this report, shall be
considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified
in this report equally divided and controlled by the proponent
and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall
not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the
House or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives
all points of order against the amendments printed in this
report. The resolution provides one motion to recommit with or
without instructions.
Section 2 of the resolution provides that on each
legislative day during the period from April 27, 2013, through
May 3, 2013: the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day
shall be considered as approved; and the Chair may at any time
declare the House adjourned to meet at a date and time within
the limits of clause 4, section 5, article I of the
Constitution, to be announced by the Chair in declaring the
adjournment.
Section 3 of the resolution provides that the Speaker may
appoint Members to perform the duties of the Chair for the
duration of the period addressed by section 2 of the resolution
as though under clause 8(a) of rule I.
Section 4 of the resolution provides that the Committee on
Education and the Workforce may, at any time before 5 p.m. on
Tuesday, April 30, 2013, file a report to accompany H.R. 1406.
EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the consideration of the bill, the Committee is not aware of
any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
The waiver of all points of order against the amendment in
the nature of a substitute made in order as original text
includes a waiver of clause 4 of rule XXI, which prohibits
reporting a bill or joint resolution carrying an appropriation
from a committee not having jurisdiction to report an
appropriation.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments printed in this report, the Committee is not
aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in
nature.
COMMITTEE VOTES
The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion
to report, together with the names of those voting for and
against, are printed below:
Rules Committee record vote No. 26
Motion by Ms. Slaughter to report an open rule. Defeated:
2-6
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Majority Members Vote Minority Members Vote
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Ms. Foxx........................................ Nay Ms. Slaughter..................... Yea
Mr. Bishop of Utah.............................. Nay Mr. McGovern...................... Yea
Mr. Cole........................................ Mr. Hastings of Florida...........
Mr. Woodall..................................... Nay Mr. Polis.........................
Mr. Nugent...................................... Nay
Mr. Webster..................................... Nay
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................ Nay
Mr. Burgess.....................................
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................
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SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER
1. Collins, Doug (GA), Austin, Scott (GA): Ensures that
excess funds are used to reduce the annual Federal budget
deficit. (10 minutes)
2. Dent (PA), Higgins (NY), Esty, Elizabeth (CT): Seeks to
ensure the continued supply of helium for end users while
requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to honor existing
contracts for the supply and delivery of helium. Affirms that
the federal government will honor existing contracts that are
set to expire October 1, 2015. (10 minutes)
3. Holt (NJ): Considers the long-term future of the Federal
Helium Reserve by requiring an assessment of how closing the
Federal Helium Reserve could influence helium availability,
including options for insuring a reliable helium supply in
coming decades. (10 minutes)
4. Thornberry (TX): Affirms the authority of the Secretary
of the Interior to allow private entities to connect to and
store helium in the Federal Helium Reserve for an appropriate
fee. (10 minutes)
TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Collins of Georgia or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 18, line 14, after ``funds'' insert ``and deficit
reduction''.
Page 18, line 18, before the period insert ``and used to
reduce the annual Federal budget deficit''.
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2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Dent of Pennsylvania or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 19, after line 17, insert the following:
(c) Existing Contracts Not Affected.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act or the
amendments made by this Act shall be construed to
affect any covered contract between the Bureau of Land
Management and any person that owns--
(A) helium stored in the Federal Helium
Reserve (as that term is used in those
amendments); or
(B) a helium enrichment unit that is part of
the Federal Helium Reserve.
(2) Covered contract.--In this subsection the term
``covered contract'' means a contract relating to the
operation of the Federal Helium Reserve, that is in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
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3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Holt of New Jersey or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 27, strike ``and'' at line 6, and after line 6 insert
the following (and redesignate the subsequent paragraph
accordingly):
(4) complete an assessment of options for ensuring a
domestic helium supply in the future, including--
(A) an analysis of how the Federal Helium
Reserve has influenced domestic and global
helium supply and prices historically; and
(B) an assessment of options for how the
Federal Helium Reserve could promote the long
term availability and security of domestic
helium supplies; and
----------
4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Thornberry of Texas or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Add at the end the following:
SEC. __. ADDITIONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE FEDERAL HELIUM RESERVE.
The Secretary of the Interior may allow any person not
connected to the Federal Helium Reserve, as that term is
defined under section 2 of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167), as
amended by this Act, to connect to the Federal Helium Reserve
for the purpose of storing helium, subject to such storage fees
as may be required by the Secretary. Withdrawal of such helium
shall be governed by that Act.