The House voted late yesterday to approve H.R. 6227, the National Quantum Initiative Act, which would create a Federal program to speed quantum research and development “for the economic and national security” of the United States.
The House vote yesterday was to concur with an amendment of the bill earlier this month by the Senate, and appears to clear the way for the legislation to proceed to the White House for President Trump’s signature.
The legislation aims to establish goals and priorities for a ten-year plan to accelerate quantum information science and technology applications development. The bill would establish a National Quantum Coordination Office in the White House Office of Science and Technology to serve as a central point of contact for stakeholders and promote commercialization of Federal research, support basic quantum science research and standards development at the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
The act also calls on the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation to establish two to five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. The bill would allow the Secretary of Energy to allocate up to $25 million annually per center for the next five years, and for the director of NSF to allocate up to $10 million annually.
