Senators Show Foresight in Latest Quantum Push

MBHB summer associate Walter DeGroft co-authored this article.

Guess who’s back. Back again. Quantum’s back. Tell your friends.[1]

For the third time in three years, the duo of Sen. Todd Young [R-IN] and Sen. Dick Durbin [D-IL] have introduced a bill to reauthorize federal funding in the quantum space. Namely, on Jan. 8, 2026, Sen. Durbin announced that he will be joining Sen. Young, and Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA] to introduce another Bipartisan National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act.[2] Sen. Durbin’s continued push for funding is unsurprising given the flurry of recent quantum activity in Illinois. For example, as we covered in 2024[3], Illinois previously provided state-level quantum funding through Public Act 103-0595[4], including $500 Million being granted to DARPA and PsiQuantum (the anchor tenant) at the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park (IQMP).[5] Separately, The Bloch Quantum has recently advanced in the Tech Hubs funding competition.[6] Further, since our last Snippet on the subject, additional companies have signed up as potential partners with the IQMP and the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Grounds.[7]

We previously discussed[8] Sen. Durbin’s unsuccessful attempts to reauthorize federal funding from the 2018 “National Quantum Initiative Act”[9] with the “Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2024” and the “Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2025.”[10] Now, based on Sen. Durbin’s press release regarding the “National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026”[11], we are waiting with bated breath to see if the reauthorization will finally pass the gauntlet of Congress and eventually become law. Unlike the comparatively narrow updates in 2024 and 2025, the 2026 attempt at reauthorization introduces a broad set of changes that go well beyond minor revisions. Valuable modifications this time around include:

• New Quantum Reskilling, Education, and Workforce (QREW) Coordination Hub
• New National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) quantum centers
• Plans to build a quantum supply chain through domestic and international cooperations/partnerships
• Plans for post-quantum cryptography deployment

As mentioned above, Sens. Young and Durbin are returning with some familiar co-sponsors from last year, Sen. Steve Dains [R-MT] and Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY]. New co-sponsors include Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA], Sen. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN], Sen. Ben Ray Luján [D-NM], Sen. Ted Budd [R-NC], Sen. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI], and Sen. Mike Rounds [R-SD]. When accounting for those who are no longer sponsoring the Bill (Sen. Alex Padilla [D-CA] and Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]), there are a total of five more sponsors than last year. Thus, this version of the attempted reauthorization has significantly more support than previous iterations.

The sponsors have shown foresight in proposing significant changes with the addition of the Quantum Reskilling, Education, and Workforce (QREW) Coordination Hub.[12] The QREW Coordination Hub, as presently envisioned, is a set of institutions focused on training/reskilling a group of specialized technical roles essential to the national infrastructure (lab technicians, quantum electricians, manufacturing operators, etc.).[13] By expanding the focus from simply research and development to building an infrastructure and workforce capable of sustaining technological advancements in quantum, the bill provides a roadmap for long-term quantum activity. The QREW Coordination Hub is designed to provide fellowship initiatives to support students in training/reskilling programs and will utilize key players in the quantum industry to help educate and develop this soon-to-be workforce.[14]

The bill also includes a new section to create National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) quantum centers that encourage the advancement of quantum information science, engineering, and technology.[15] These NIST quantum centers could be institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, or a blend of both with a combination of private sector entities and federal laboratories.[16] This is not dissimilar to the arrangement on the South Side of Chicago with the IQMP.[17] For example, at the IQMP, the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground project seeks to validate quantum computer hardware progress[18] (putting DARPA in charge of monitoring quantum performance during IQMP’s initial stages).[19] To support NIST quantum centers and associated projects, the bill allocates $18 million for each fiscal year from 2026 to 2030 (totaling $90 million).[20]

Also scattered throughout the bill are provisions to identify and address the needs of the quantum supply chain.[21] Considerations for lasers[22], cryogenics[23], even raw materials like helium-3[24] have been accounted for. As spelled out in the bill, it will be up to the International Quantum Cooperation Strategy to provide guidance on how to effectively manage this quantum supply chain.[25] Moreover, Section 201(c)(3) plans for “shocks to the quantum supply chain” (natural disasters, pandemics, etc.) and how to avoid desperate supply shortages associated with these disruptions.[26] Under Section 201(f), $85 million has been allocated for each fiscal year from 2026 to 2030 (totaling $425 million) to support projects related to the quantum supply chain.[27]

Just before the big dollar sign at the end of Section 201, subsection (e) spells out how “‘post-quantum cryptography’[28] deployment” will occur.[29] On December 21, 2022, Public Law 117-260[30] was signed into law describing how big of a priority quantum cryptography is for national security. This concern could be addressed by this new legislation, in which the Director of NIST, the Director of Homeland Security, heads of risk management agencies, private sector entities, and others are directed to promote the voluntary deployment and adoption of post-quantum cryptography.[31] Progress is already being made on this problem with Duality Technologies being awarded $14.5 million form DARPA to build quantum-ready encryption methods.[32]

While incredibly exciting, this legislation has only very recently been introduced. Further, as we indicated above, similar prior legislation has struggled to gain traction. However, if the bill does pass, sunset provisions are currently set for December 30, 2034.[33] There is plenty more in this bill to discuss, but we have sought to highlight some of the most significant points here and plan to monitor the progress of this bill over the course of the year. We are looking forward to a 2026 filled with new quantum developments, in Chicago and beyond.

[1] A real Schrödinger’s Slim Shady situation; See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem.

[2] U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Durbin Joins Cantwell, Young To Introduce Bipartisan National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act (Jan. 8, 2026), https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-joins-cantwell-young-to-introduce-bipartisan-national-quantum-initiative-reauthorization-act.

[3] Andrew H. Velzen, Illinois Passes Act Further Incentivizing Quantum Industry, MBHB Snippets, June 28, 2024, https://www.mbhb.com/intelligence/snippets/illinois-passes-act-further-incentivizing-quantum-industry/.

[4] https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/103/PDF/103-0595.pdf

[5] PsiQuantum, DARPA Selects PsiQuantum to Advance to Final Phase of Quantum Computing Program, https://www.psiquantum.com/news-import/darpa-final-phase.

[6] Chicago Quantum Exchange, The Bloch Quantum Advances in Tech Hubs Funding Competition, https://chicagoquantum.org/news/bloch-quantum-advances-tech-hubs-funding-competition.

[7] Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, QBI: Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/quantum-benchmarking-initiative.

[8] Andrew H. Velzen, Senators Push for U.S. Leadership on Quantum, MBHB Snippets, July 9, 2025, https://www.mbhb.com/intelligence/snippets/senators-push-for-u-s-leadership-on-quantum/.

[9] H.R. 6227, 115th Cong. (2018)

[10] S. 579, 119th Cong. (2025)

[11] S.3597, 119^th Cong. (2026)

[12] S.3597 supra note 7 at §303.

[13] Id. at §303(c).

[14] Id. at §303(e) & (f).

[15] Id. at §202.

[16] Id. at §202(a)(2)(C).

[17] Chicago Quantum Exchange, Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, https://chicagoquantum.org/IQMP.

[18] Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Moving Quantum Computing from Hype to Prototype (July 16, 2024).

[19] S.3597 supra note 7 at §201(a)(5).

[20] Id. at §202(e).

[21] Id.

[22] Id. at §201(a)(4).

[23] Id. at §201(a)(4).

[24] Id. at §105A(c)(6).

[25] Id. at §105.

[26] Id. at §201(c)(3).

[27] Id. at §201(f).

[28] Post-Quantum Cryptography refers to the encryption methods we will require to protect ourselves from quantum computing attacks, which would otherwise break current many encryption methods used in traditional computing systems.

[29] Id. at §201(e).

[30] Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, Pub. L. No. 117‑260, 136 Stat. 2389 (2022).

[31] S.3597 supra note 7 at §201(e)(2).

[32] Duality Technologies, DARPA Awards Duality Technologies Multi‑Million Dollar Contract to Accelerate Machine Learning on Encrypted Data, https://dualitytech.com/blog/darpa-awards-duality-technologies-multi-million-dollar-contract-to-accelerate-machine-learning-on-encrypted-data/.

[33] Id. at §107.