U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, calling for greater support for quantum computing hardware and software through strategic research projects.
The U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee announced they are writing a proposal for the National Quantum Initiative Act, a similar proposal to that of the Quantum Computing Research Act of 2018 recently proposed. A bit early in the development, the first blush appears to have a lighter government touch on the direction of U.S. quantum information science (QIS) than its recent predecessor, the NQCRA of 2018. The National Quantum Initiative Act will accelerate quantum research and development.
The National Quantum Initiative Program is another recently developed U.S. Government attempt to openly get ahead of the quantum computing curve. The NQIP action plan made its way on to the internet in April of 2018. In addition to the Quantum Computing Research Act of 2018, the NQIP aspires to spurn inter-agency collaboration. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE), and others, are called on to coordinate and lead the initiative.
The U.S. Congress is taking notice of the potential of quantum computing. With a small step toward directing the U.S. DOD, a U.S. Senator has proposed the Quantum Computing Research Act of 2018.
