Sponsors (6)
The bill accelerates U.S. quantum commercialization, workforce development, domestic supply‑chain building, and practical quantum capabilities through larger, multi‑year DOE investments and interagency efforts—but does so at substantial taxpayer cost while shifting emphasis away from basic research, favoring larger/established entities, and adding administrative and collaboration restrictions.
Students, trainees, and current tech workers gain expanded education, traineeships, and workforce-development pathways aligned with DOE quantum investments, increasing the size and diversity of the quantum workforce.
Researchers and developers get broader, sustained DOE support for R&D, demonstrations, testbeds, and an early-stage quantum-HPC plan that integrates quantum, AI, and exascale resources, accelerating technology maturation and scientific computing capabilities.
Small and medium businesses, startups, and domestic industry gain improved access to specialized equipment, foundry/instrumentation infrastructure, and federal support to develop domestic quantum supply chains—reducing reliance on foreign suppliers and supporting domestic manufacturing and jobs.
All taxpayers face materially higher federal spending (hundreds of millions across FY2026–2030 and beyond), which could increase budget pressures or crowd out other federal priorities.
Researchers, students, and basic‑science programs risk reduced funding and attention as the bill shifts DOE priorities toward applied, demonstration, and near‑term commercial projects, potentially undermining long‑term fundamental research and discovery.
Small businesses, small labs, and less‑resourced institutions may be disadvantaged because the bill's emphasis on commercialization, larger multi‑year grants, foundries, and leveraging commercial/cloud partners tends to favor established firms and organizations with existing partnerships and scale.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Expands DOE quantum programs from basic research to RD&D, creates a quantum instrumentation/foundry program, raises center funding caps, and mandates industry outreach and workforce development.
Official title: Amend the National Quantum Initiative Act to provide for a research, development, and demonstration program, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Richard Joseph Durbin · Last progress February 13, 2025
Expands and upgrades the Department of Energy’s quantum programs to move beyond basic research into research, development, demonstration, commercialization, and workforce training. It creates a DOE Quantum Instrumentation and Foundry Program with limited annual funding, raises funding caps and renewal authority for DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, broadens quantum network and cloud program scope to include multiple modalities and commercial hardware/software, and requires industry outreach, interagency coordination, and a 10‑year high-performance computing strategic plan to Congress.