The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

that ordered the US government to sell much of the National Helium Reserve. The United States 104th Congressional session passed the

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

presenting the

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

to the United States President on September 30, 1996. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

enacted the federal statute into law on October 9, 1996. The law was described by critics as a "fiasco" due to the formula-based sale price being significantly lower than the market price for helium. The bill was amended in 2013 to use an auction to sell helium.

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* * * * * Acts of the 104th United States Congress Helium United States federal commerce legislation {{US-statute-stub