National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act

Key Points

• This bill reauthorizes the National Quantum Initiative through December 2032, expanding its scope from basic research to include engineering, technology development, demonstration, and commercialization. It adds NASA as a new participating agency and broadens the initiative to cover quantum computing, sensing, networking, and communications across civilian, military, and intelligence domains.
• The bill creates a Quantum Reskilling, Education, and Workforce (QREW) Coordination Hub to address workforce gaps. It supports K-12 education, college scholarships, traineeships, fellowships, and cooperative education programs in quantum fields, aiming to build a pipeline of trained workers for the growing quantum industry.
• Strong research security provisions block funding to institutions that maintain agreements with Confucius Institutes and prohibit research partnerships with foreign countries or entities of concern. These restrictions aim to safeguard quantum research from foreign espionage and intellectual property theft.
• New programs include up to three NIST Quantum Acceleration Centers, up to five NSF quantum testbeds, a DOE Quantum Instrumentation and Foundry Program, and a NASA Quantum Institute. These facilities will give scientists and private companies shared resources to develop and test real-world quantum applications.
• The bill directs the Department of Energy to use quantum technology to improve the resilience, security, and efficiency of the electric grid, including through fault detection, grid optimization, energy storage, and post-quantum cryptography for cybersecurity.
• NIST is directed to promote post-quantum cryptography standards deployment and may establish a grant program to help critical infrastructure entities adopt new encryption standards and fix quantum-related vulnerabilities, protecting sensitive systems from future quantum-enabled cyberattacks.