Senators introduce quantum reauthorization bill with little time left in this Congress

A team of senators introduced legislation Tuesday to continue funding U.S. research into quantum information sciences, adding to the broadly bipartisan push for a reliable federal infrastructure to support the development of quantum physics-based technologies.

Led by Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act would allocate $2.7 billion in public funding up to the year 2029 to advance critical research in QIST fields.

While the bill’s fundamental aim is to extend the initial National Quantum Initiative — launched by President Donald Trump during his first term — the reauthorization works to outfit federal offices like the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation and NASA with more offices and testbeds devoted to QIST disciplines like computing, measurement and sensing. It would also extend the program’s duration from 2029 to 2035. 

The original legislation that established the program in 2018 expired in late 2023. 

“Quantum research and development is critical to our economic and national security," Young said in a press release. "This legislation prioritizes advancements in quantum and will help address technological and workforce challenges in the quantum sector."

Both congressional chambers have been working toward the passage of the NQI reauthorization bill since 2023, when the House Science, Space and Technology Committee advanced it to the House floor unanimously over one year ago following its introduction by Reps. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

Lucas told Nextgov/FCW on Wednesday that while he was happy to see the bill move forward in the upper chamber, its introduction could have come sooner to improve its chance at passage before the year’s end. 

“I’m pleased to see the Senate move on this, with much of the base text drawing from the House Science Committee’s National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act that advanced through our committee in 2023,” he said. “However, completing this sooner would have been beneficial, providing us a better chance to pass this crucial legislation by the year's end.”

A  House Science Committee Democratic staffer told Nextgov/FCW that they are not optimistic the legislation will get enacted this year.

The Reauthorization Act notably applies other critical technologies — namely artificial intelligence, microelectronics and nano technology — as potential “quantum supporting technologies” that can lead to practical near-term applications of quantum information sciences. 

“The future is quantum computing, quantum technologies where you can harness these massive amounts of information and use them in a productive way,” Lucas told Nextgov/FCW in an earlier 2023 interview. 

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comment from a House Science Committee Democratic staffer.