Helium is an incredibly important natural resource of which the United States has a large supply. Helium results from radioactive decay, and is thus not a renewable resource. It is estimated that within a century the world supply of helium will be depleted.
Helium is a critical resource in many industries and particularly in high-technology. MRI's, to take just one example, as they use helium-cooled superconducting magnets, require helium to function. Without an adequate supply of helium, technologies used in dozens of industries will no longer be functional and large areas of scientific research, particularly in experimental physics, will be made impossible.