The United States had a billion cubic meters of helium in the National Helium Reserve in Texas. It was the only helium reserve in the country, and a strategic resource for the United States. But storing it was losing money, so the geniuses in Congress decided to privatize it. Helium Privatization Act of 1996 sold off helium at below-market prices and is the reason we now have a shortage of it.Did y’all know helium is mined? And is subject to shortages? I tried to buy my daughter a birthday ballon several years ago and the helium lady at the grocery store told me. How do you mine helium? Is it just a bunch of miners with Mickey Mouse voices?