An uproar! The US $340 million quantum bill has been eliminated
In early 2021, Frank Lucas, a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee, introduced the Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology Act (QUEST). The QUEST Act calls for $340 million over five years for quantum research and development.
A few months ago, the QUEST Act was passed by Congress. However, according to Fortune, the QUEST Act has been eliminated from the $1.75 trillion "Rebuild a Better Future Act" proposed by US President Biden. Fortune even described it as a "quantum failure." "Washington appears to have conceded defeat as Beijing pushes forward," the article said.
The two authors of the article, Miles Taylor, were former head of Google's U.S. advanced technology and security strategy and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Daria Bahrami is the R Street Institute Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats Program Manager. She previously worked at the National Geographic Society and volunteered for several military cyber and ethical AI programs, including the Military Cyber Professionals Association and the 2020 United Nations Internet Governance Forum.
The QUEST Act would spend $340 million over five years on quantum research and development, they wrote. These funds will help the United States stay ahead of the quantum race, bringing together government and private industry to enhance quantum computing research, educate the quantum workforce of the future, and accelerate advances in core technologies. Without this necessary investment, the U.S. could fall into a “quantum winter”—a period in which investment in technology dries up, giving rival nations an excellent opportunity to overtake the U.S.
In terms of content, the QUEST Act would require the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a program designed to "encourage and facilitate research using U.S. quantum computing hardware and quantum computing clouds" to ultimately increase the U.S. research enterprise and workforce in this area, Accelerate the development of quantum computing capabilities. The budget is as follows:
$30 million in fiscal 2022;
$50 million in fiscal 2023;
$70 million in fiscal 2024;
$90 million in fiscal 2025;
$100 million in fiscal 2026.
Now, with the QUEST Act dead, they suggest that to avoid this potentially disastrous situation, MPs should urge the bill to be included in any economic package considered by the Senate or into appropriations legislation under consideration. "Quantum computing is moving fast, and we can't stand idly by."
They went on to say that the QUEST Act was only the first step. Government agencies must now do more to prepare for a quantum age that is no longer far away. This includes strategic planning at the highest levels of government about how the technology affects U.S. defense and economic competitiveness, as well as using existing research funding to invest in near-term applications.
In the end, they said, falling behind would be a colossal failure. "We've clearly seen a 'Sputnik moment' (the Soviet Union's launch of the first Sputnik, referring to a threat to the US). Beijing is investing heavily in the technologies that will shape the future, and Washington must do the same - otherwise It's too late."
Reference link:
[1]https://fortune.com/2022/01/18/a-quantum-failure-us-china-tech-research-investing-congress-biden-xi-stimulus-international-politics/
[2]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Ce2qbkBQ79zQCRQojPES4w
