In today’s complex and challenging federal policy environment, examples of policymaking proceeding in concert between the legislative and executive branch and through the “regular order” legislative process in Congress are few and far between. One area where the policymaking apparatus is proceeding in a relatively normal way is quantum information science. We can look at how policymaking is proceeding in this area as an illustration of what’s possible when the legislative and executive branches work together.
Through the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018, Congress created the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) to establish a coordinated federal approach to quantum research and development. Since then, federal quantum policy has involved multiple agencies, including NSF, DOE, NIST, and others, as well as coordination through https://www.quantum.gov/ and the National Quantum Coordination Office at the White House.
The National Quantum Initiative’s authorization is in effect until 2029. Nevertheless, Congress is now proceeding with reauthorization legislation that would extend NQI into the 2030s as a signal to the research community, industry, and other partners and stakeholders that the United States is serious about leadership in quantum. The House version and Senate version of the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026 would update and extend the federal quantum policy framework with attention to coordination, research, workforce development, commercialization, industry partnerships, and national security. Each bill has passed through the relevant committees and is awaiting a vote by the full House and Senate, which hopefully will happen before this Congress concludes at the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, in June 2026, the Trump Administration issued two executive orders focused on accelerating quantum innovation and post-quantum cryptography. In concert with the new executive orders, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the Quantum Genesis initiative, which aims to create and deploy a fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computing capability for research and development by 2028.
For research administrators, the broader lesson is that when the federal science policy apparatus is working as intended, federal research priorities are not set by one document or one branch of government. Priorities often emerge through the interaction of constituents, experts, authorizing legislation, appropriations, executive orders, agency implementation, and public-private partnerships. When those signals align, organizations may see new solicitations, new partnership expectations, new workforce priorities, and new compliance considerations more quickly.
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