National Quantum Initiative Act Approved by U.S. House, Heads to President for Signature

(Washington, D.C.) -The National Photonics Initiative (NPI)--a broad-based collaborative alliance among industry, academia, and government to raise awareness of optics, photonics and quantum science and technology— is commending the U.S. House of Representatives for approving the final version of the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Act, H.R. 6227. The Senate passed the legislation last week and it will now head to President Trump for his signature.
 
“The Congress has acted in a bipartisan way to move our nation’s quantum technology policy forward,” said Ed White, Chair of the NPI Steering Committee and Vice President Test, Assembly, and Packaging for AIM Photonics. “This critical legislation creates the comprehensive quantum technology policy our country needs to transition this exciting research from the laboratory to the marketplace. We applaud lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate for their commitment to seeing this legislation through and look forward to working with Administration officials on its implementation.”
 
The NPI has been working toward approval of the NQI Act for more than a year. The final version of the NQI Act closely follows the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Action Plan which was prepared under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Monroe, professor of physics at the University of Maryland and CEO of IonQ, and Dr. Michael Raymer, professor of physics at the University of Oregon, both founding stakeholders. It was shared with lawmakers by the NPI earlier this year. The stated goals of the Action Plan include producing a world-leading industrial quantum technology workforce, advancing quantum information science and technology research, and developing quantum software and intellectual property. The NPI also advocated for a new quantum computing and communications access program to make quantum systems and simulations available to U.S. researchers and users across academia, laboratories, and industry.
 
White praised House and Senate leaders for working together to advance the NQI Act in a bipartisan way.  “House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson, as well as Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and Ranking Member Bill Nelson and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, are to be applauded for their commitment to finalizing passage of the NQI Act. Their leadership will accelerate research and development in quantum science and technology and maintain our country’s position as a leader in this important field.”

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About the NPI: The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) is a collaborative alliance among industry, academia and government to raise awareness of photonics and the impact of photonics on our everyday lives; increase cooperation and coordination among US industry, government and academia to advance photonics-driven fields; and drive US funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US economic competitiveness and national security. The initiative is being led by top scientific societies including the American Physical Society (APS), the IEEE Photonics Society, the Laser Institute of America (LIA), The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics. For more information visit www.lightourfuture.org.