Quantum News Nexus

Is Congress finally ready to reboot the US National Quantum Initiative (NQI)? 

A boatload of senators just put their names behind the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act (NQIRA), which seeks to, yes, reauthorize, but also extend and expand on the original NQI, which was passed in 2018.

The NQIRA was first introduced back in late 2024, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology even heard testimony in May of last year as to why having a national quantum strategy is so important. However, the NQIRA then seemed to get back-burnered and pretty much forgotten amid a slew of other Congressional priorities and distractions.

Now, it appears to have been moved to a front burner again by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Todd Young (R-Ind.); Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Steve Daines (R-Mont.); Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.); Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.); Ted Budd (R-N.C.); Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). They collectively re-introduced the NQIRA this week, and the lengthy list of senators backing it may be a direct reflection of how quantum is enjoying a much larger profile now than it did in 2024, when Cantwell, Young, Durbin, and Daines first introduced the NQIRA.

A lot of people in the quantum sector had begun to wonder what was happening with the NQIRA, particularly as there were rumblings that the Trump administration was taking a keen interest in quantum. That interest, which was said to include potential investments and an Executive Order, has yet to amount to anything, though in regard to the NQIRA, US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar said a couple of months ago that the administration was encouraging Congress to move forward with it.

There are a bunch of not-particularly-insightful quotes from senators and industry folks in the press release I linked to at the top of this post, but the key things to know about the NQIRA is that it seeks to:

1. Extend the NQI by five years from its origins expiration date of December 2029 to December 2034. (Certain aspects of the NQI had started to expire as early as 2023.) Reauthorizing it will support quantum research, education and development initiatives across NIST, NSF and NASA.
2. Require the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop an international quantum cooperation strategy to coordinate R&D activities with US allies.
3. Create new prize challenges to accelerate the development of quantum applications and algorithms through public-private collaboration.
4. Direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit a plan to Congress to strengthen quantum supply chain resilience.
5. Establish up to three new NIST quantum centers to advance research in quantum sensing, measurement and engineering.
6. Create five new NSF Multidisciplinary Centers for Quantum Research and Education, a quantum workforce coordination hub and quantum testbeds.
7. For the first time, authorize NASA quantum R&D activities including quantum satellite communications and quantum sensing research initiatives.

That last item is intriguing in light of last month’s Executive Order “Ensuring American Space Superiority.” It also comes as quantum technology firms such as IonQ have ramped up activities around quantum-safe satellite communications, quantum sensing, and quantum networking in space.

Here’s to hoping the NQIRA doesn’t get moved to the back burner once again.

Image by freepik.

Quantum News Nexus is a site from freelance writer and editor Dan O’Shea that covers quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum networking, quantum-safe security, and more. You can find him on X @QuantumNewsGuy and doshea14@gmail.com.