Lawmaker: Raising taxes is not the only means of reducing government

   debt. The government’s stockpile of helium is worth 25 percent more,

   at current market prices, than the debt accumulated in acquiring and

   storing it. Therefore, by selling the helium, the government can not

   only pay off that debt but reduce its overall debt as well.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A.     The government has no current need for helium.

B.     Twenty-five percent of the debt the government has accumulated in

Stockpiling helium is not an insignificant portion of the government’s

Total debt.

C.     It is not in the lawmaker’s interest to advocate raising taxes as a

Means of reducing government debt.

D.     Attempts to sell the government’s helium will not depress the market

Price of helium by more than 25 percent.

E.      The government will not incur any costs in closing its facilities for

stockpiling helium.

这道题我选了B，答案是D，是否有人能帮着详细分析一下，

B is not the right answer because no matter the debt on helium is significant or not, paying it back will still reduce the total debt, isn't it?

D is correct because if the price of helium drops by 25%, the value of helium held by government will be less than the debt accumulated. Thus the revenue of selling it is not enough to pay off the debt. In this case, the statement, "by selling the helium, the government can not only pay off that debt but reduce its overall debt as well", will not be true.

you've offered a very convincing explanation, thanks!