I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8279 

To establish and support a quantum network infrastructure research and 

development program at the Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 

Mr. ZELDIN (for himself and Mr. FOSTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish and support a quantum network infrastructure 

research and development program at the Department 

of Energy, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quantum Network In5 frastructure Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 2 of the National Quantum Initiative Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 8801) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para10 graph (8); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(7) QUANTUM NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

4 The term ‘quantum network infrastructure’ means 

5 any facility, expertise, or capability that is necessary 

6 to enable the development and deployment of scal7 able and diverse quantum network technologies.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY QUANTUM NETWORK IN9 FRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT PROGRAM. 

11 Title IV of the National Quantum Initiative Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 8851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 403. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY QUANTUM NETWORK 

15 INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP16 MENT PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (re18 ferred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) shall carry out 

19 a research, development, and demonstration program to 

20 accelerate innovation in quantum network infrastructure 

21 in order to— 

22 ‘‘(1) facilitate the advancement of distributed 

23 quantum computing systems through the internet 

24 and intranet; 


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1 ‘‘(2) improve the precision of measurements of 

2 scientific phenomena and physical imaging tech3 nologies; and 

4 ‘‘(3) develop secure national quantum commu5 nications technologies and strategies. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—In carrying out this section, the 

7 Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) coordinate with— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Director of the National Science 

10 Foundation; 

11 ‘‘(B) the Director of the National Institute 

12 of Standards and Technology; 

13 ‘‘(C) the Chair of the Subcommittee on 

14 Quantum Information Science of the National 

15 Science and Technology Council established 

16 under section 103(a); and 

17 ‘‘(D) the Chair of the Subcommittee on the 

18 Economic and Security Implications of Quan19 tum Science; 

20 ‘‘(2) conduct cooperative research with indus21 try, National Laboratories, institutions of higher 

22 education, and other research institutions to facili23 tate new quantum infrastructure methods and tech24 nologies, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) quantum-limited detectors, ultra-low 

2 loss optical channels, space-to-ground connec3 tions, and classical networking and cybersecu4 rity protocols; 

5 ‘‘(B) entanglement and hyper-entangled 

6 state sources and transmission, control, and 

7 measurement of quantum states; 

8 ‘‘(C) quantum interconnects that allow 

9 short range local connections between quantum 

10 processors; 

11 ‘‘(D) transducers for quantum sources and 

12 signals between optical and telecommunications 

13 regimes and quantum computer-relevant do14 mains, including microwaves; 

15 ‘‘(E) development of quantum memory 

16 buffers and small-scale quantum computers 

17 that are compatible with photon-based quantum 

18 bits in the optical or telecommunications wave19 lengths; 

20 ‘‘(F) long-range entanglement distribution 

21 at both the terrestrial and space-based level 

22 using quantum repeaters, allowing entangle23 ment-based protocols between small- and large24 scale quantum processors; 


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1 ‘‘(G) quantum routers, multiplexers, re2 peaters, and related technologies necessary to 

3 create secure long-distance quantum commu4 nication; and 

5 ‘‘(H) integration of systems across the 

6 quantum technology stack into traditional com7 puting networks, including the development of 

8 remote controlled, high performance, and reli9 able implementations of key quantum network 

10 components; 

11 ‘‘(3) engage with the Quantum Economic De12 velopment Consortium (QED–C) to transition com13 ponent technologies to help facilitate as appropriate 

14 the development of a quantum supply chain for 

15 quantum network technologies; 

16 ‘‘(4) advance basic research in advanced sci17 entific computing and material science to enhance 

18 the understanding, prediction, and manipulation of 

19 materials and processes relevant to quantum net20 work infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(5) develop experimental tools and testbeds 

22 necessary to support cross-cutting fundamental re23 search and development activities with diverse stake24 holders from industry and institutions of higher edu25 cation; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) consider quantum network infrastructure 

2 applications that span the Department of Energy’s 

3 missions in energy, environment, and national secu4 rity. 

5 ‘‘(c) LEVERAGING.—In carrying out this section, the 

6 Secretary shall leverage resources, infrastructure, and ex7 pertise across the Department of Energy and from— 

8 ‘‘(1) the National Institute of Standards and 

9 Technology; 

10 ‘‘(2) the National Science Foundation; 

11 ‘‘(3) the National Aeronautics and Space Ad12 ministration; 

13 ‘‘(4) other relevant Federal agencies; 

14 ‘‘(5) the National Laboratories; 

15 ‘‘(6) industry stakeholders; 

16 ‘‘(7) institutions of higher education; and 

17 ‘‘(8) the National Quantum Information 

18 Science Research Centers. 

19 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of the Quantum Network 

21 Infrastructure Act of 2020, the Secretary shall submit to 

22 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

24 and Natural Resources of the Senate, a 4-year research 


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1 plan that identifies and prioritizes basic research needs re2 lating to quantum network infrastructure. 

3 ‘‘(e) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

4 review activities carried out under this section to deter5 mine the achievement of technical milestones. 

6 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—Funds authorized to be appro7 priated for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, 

8 there shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out 

9 the activities under this section, $100,000,000 for each 

10 of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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