The committee concludes that without such careful and purposeful management of the Federal Helium Reserve, the Reserve is not being exploited as well as it could be for the public good. It is clear to the committee that selling substantially all of the federally owned crude helium in the Reserve in the manner prescribed by the 1996 Act has had and will continue to have an adverse effect on U.S. users of helium.¹⁹ A new approach is required, and the committee believes that the actions recommended here are the first steps in that direction. The committee also concludes that regular and careful reviews of the program by an independent body would be valuable. Moreover, the affected interests are sufficiently broad that agencies other than BLM (including research funding agencies, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and congressional committees) must be involved in periodic reviews and in the establishment of a long-term strategy for U.S. helium reserves in the Bush Dome Reservoir and elsewhere. The stewardship of this valuable national asset could be much improved.