I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7935 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to accelerate the implementation of quan-
tum information science technologies within the Department of Defense, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 10, 2024 
Ms. STEFANIK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to accelerate the imple-
mentation of quantum information science technologies 
within the Department of Defense, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defense Quantum Ac-
celeration Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. JOINT QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE DEFENSE 
TRANSITION ACTIVITIES. 
Chapter 301 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 4001 the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 4002. Joint quantum information science defense 
transition activities 
‘‘(a) ACTIVITIES REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall establish a set of activities to accelerate the 
adoption and implementation quantum information 
science (hereafter referred to ‘QIS’) technology with-
in the Department of Defense. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Pursuant to the activities es-
tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting 
through the Principal Quantum Advisor designated 
under subsection (b), shall— 
‘‘(A) explore and identify QIS technologies 
that— 
‘‘(i) have demonstrated value in ad-
vancing the priorities and missions of the 
Department; and 
‘‘(ii) may be applied to address oper-
ational problems; 
‘‘(B) develop plans to transition such QIS 
technologies from the research and development 
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phase to operational use within the Depart-
ment, including within each of the Armed 
Forces; and 
‘‘(C) carry out such transition plans. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF PRINCIPAL QUANTUM ADVI-
SOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense shall designate a senior official of 
the Department of Defense to serve as the Principal 
Quantum Advisor for the Department. 
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Principal Quan-
tum Advisor shall serve as the official within the De-
partment of Defense with principal responsibility 
for— 
‘‘(A) coordinating activities relating to the 
accelerated demonstration and transition of 
QIS technologies for applications specific to 
operational challenges faced by the Department; 
‘‘(B) coordinating, overseeing, and man-
aging the set of activities established under sub-
section (a); 
‘‘(C) carrying out the activities described 
in paragraphs (3) through (6); and 
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‘‘(D) carrying out such other duties related 
to the development and implementation of QIS 
technologies as the Secretary may direct. 
‘‘(3) DEFINING AND CODIFYING DEFENSE QIS 
USE CASES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Principal Quan-
tum Advisor shall— 
‘‘(i) identify operational challenges 
faced by the Department of Defense that 
have the potential to be addressed through 
the use of QIS-technology based solutions, 
including solutions based on the QIS tech-
nology areas described subparagraph (C); 
‘‘(ii) for each such challenge, deter-
mine if the implementation of a QIS tech-
nology-based solution has the potential to 
be significantly more effective at address-
ing such challenge compared to a non-QIS 
technology-based solution, taking into ac-
count the technology and manufacturing 
readiness level of the QIS technology-based 
solution; 
‘‘(iii) for each potential QIS tech-
nology-based 
solution 
identified 
under 
clause (ii), evaluate and determine the 
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technology and manufacturing readiness 
level of the solution taking into account the 
current readiness level of such solution— 
‘‘(I) within the Department; 
‘‘(II) among other departments 
and agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment; 
‘‘(III) among Five Eyes coun-
tries; and 
‘‘(IV) within academia and indus-
try. 
‘‘(iv) for each QIS technology-based 
solution determined under clause (iii) to 
have a technology and manufacturing read-
iness level of 5 or higher, begin proto-
typing and evaluation activities of such so-
lution at scale in operationally relevant en-
vironments by not later than the end of fis-
cal year 2025; and 
‘‘(v) for each QIS technology-based 
solution determined under clause (iii) to 
have a technology and manufacturing read-
iness level of 4 or lower, submit to Con-
gress a plan for funding such solution over 
the period of five fiscal years following the 
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‘‘(I) the plans of such Forces and 
commands across the period covered 
by the future-years defense program; 
and 
‘‘(II) 
the 
program 
objective 
memorandum 
processes 
for 
such 
Forces and commands. 
‘‘(C) 
QIS 
TECHNOLOGY
AREAS
DE-
SCRIBED.—The QIS technology areas described 
in this subparagraph are the following: 
‘‘(i) Quantum sensing, including— 
‘‘(I) alternative precision naviga-
tion and timing; 
‘‘(II) undersea or underground 
detection; 
‘‘(III) advanced intelligence, sur-
veillance, and reconnaissance quantum 
imaging techniques; and 
‘‘(IV) biomedical and health care. 
‘‘(ii) Quantum computing, including— 
‘‘(I) annealing; 
‘‘(II) quantum-enabled machine 
learning; 
‘‘(III) simulation and optimiza-
tion; and 
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‘‘(IV) integrating quantum and 
classical computing. 
‘‘(iii) Quantum annealing. 
‘‘(iv) Quantum Communications and 
networking. 
‘‘(v) Quantum-enabled modeling and 
simulation. 
‘‘(vi) Hybrid quantum computing and 
the integration of quantum and classical 
computing components. 
‘‘(4) ACCELERATION
OF
DEVELOPMENT
AND 
FIELDING
OF
QIS
TECHNOLOGIES.—The Principal 
Quantum Advisor shall— 
‘‘(A) use the flexibility of regulations, per-
sonnel, acquisition, partnerships with industry 
and academia, or other relevant policies of the 
Department to accelerate the transition and 
fielding of QIS technologies; 
‘‘(B) ensure engagement with combatant 
commands, defense and private industries, re-
search universities, and unaffiliated, nonprofit 
research institutions on matters relating such 
QIS technologies; and 
‘‘(C) provide technical advice and support 
organizations and elements of the Department 
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of Defense, including the Armed Forces, to op-
timize the use of QIS technologies to meet mis-
sion requirements. 
‘‘(5) 
INDUSTRY
AND
ACADEMIA
ENGAGE-
MENT.— 
‘‘(A) INCLUSION
IN
CONSORTIUM.—The 
Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the 
Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, shall ensure that the Principal 
Quantum Advisor is included in the activities of 
the Quantum Economic Development Consor-
tium established under section 201(b) of the 
National Quantum Initiative Act (Public Law 
115–368; 15 U.S.C. 8831(b)). 
‘‘(B) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—On a quar-
terly basis, the Principal Quantum Advisor 
shall conduct outreach and engagement with in-
dustry and academic leaders— 
‘‘(i) to educate organizations in the 
QIS industrial base on national security 
QIS use cases and operational challenges 
faced by the Department that have the po-
tential to be addressed through the use of 
QIS technology-based solutions as de-
scribed in paragraph (3); 
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‘‘(ii) to the extent determined appro-
priate by the Principal Quantum Advisor, 
provide industry with the opportunity to 
identify QIS technology-based solutions to 
operational challenges faced by the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(iii) educate organizations in the De-
fense industrial base on near-term and 
commercially available QIS technology- 
based solutions that provide operationally 
relevant warfighting capabilities; 
‘‘(iv) advance relevant QIS supply 
chains 
and 
manufacturing 
capabilities 
within the United States and among allies 
and partners of the United States; and 
‘‘(v) facilitate the commercialization of 
QIS technology-based solutions developed 
by the research and engineering organiza-
tions of the Department of Defense for 
purposes of prototyping and transitioning 
such technologies into operational use. 
‘‘(6) ALLIED QUANTUM ENHANCEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) 
ALIGNMENT
WITH
AUKUS
EF-
FORTS.—Based on the QIS use cases identified 
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under paragraph (3)(A)(ii), the Principal Quan-
tum Advisor shall— 
‘‘(i) identify areas in which the United 
Kingdom and Australia, pursuant to Pillar 
II the partnership among Australia, the 
United Kingdom, and the United States 
(commonly known as ‘AUKUS’ ) are pur-
suing technology aligned with such use 
cases; and 
‘‘(ii) align Department research and 
development and procurement funding in 
relation to QIS technologies on accel-
erating opportunities where Australia and 
the United Kingdom are pursuing such 
technologies. 
‘‘(B) MULTILATERAL
AUKUS
AND
NATO 
MEETINGS.—The Principal Quantum Advisor 
shall organize— 
‘‘(i) a recurring multilateral meeting 
of quantum technology experts from the 
United States, the United Kingdom, and 
Australia to facilitate information-sharing 
and planning relevant to QIS technology 
and defense-specific use cases for such 
technology; and 
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‘‘(ii) a recurring multilateral meeting 
of quantum technology experts from mem-
ber nations of the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization to facilitate such information- 
sharing and planning. 
‘‘(c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall develop strategic plan to guide the devel-
opment, assessment, procurement, and implementa-
tion of QIS technologies within the Department of 
Defense over the period of five years following the 
date of the plan. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) Plans for the continuous evaluation, 
development, and implementation of QIS tech-
nology solutions within the Department. 
‘‘(B) Plans for the development, review, 
performance evaluation, and adoption of a 
fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computer 
and the transition of that capability to appro-
priate organizations and elements of the De-
partment of Defense, including the Armed 
Forces, and such other departments and agen-
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cies of the Federal Government as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(C) Plans for allocating the resources of 
the Department to ensure such resources are 
focused on QIS technologies with the potential 
to solve operational challenges. 
‘‘(D) Identification of QIS technologies 
that— 
‘‘(i) have critical defense-specific ap-
plications; 
‘‘(ii) cannot be adapted from commer-
cially available QIS technology; and 
‘‘(iii) are unlikely to be pursued or ac-
celerated by industry because of limited 
commercial value. 
‘‘(E) Plans for supporting the development 
of capabilities identified under subparagraph 
(D). 
‘‘(F) An assessment of the QIS supply 
chain, including assessment of— 
‘‘(i) any associated strengths, weak-
nesses, opportunities and threats; and 
‘‘(ii) critical components, suppliers, 
and single points of failure. 
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‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a 
report that includes the plan developed under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(d) COMMERCIAL SECURITY STRATEGY.—The Sec-
retary of Defense shall adopt a comprehensive security 
strategy for commercially developed capabilities based on 
the guide utilized in the Underexplored Systems for Util-
ity-Scale Quantum Computing program of the Defense 
Advanced Research Projects Agency. 
‘‘(e) NATIONAL SECURITY QIS ADOPTION ACCEL-
ERATION TESTBED.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of De-
fense, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 
shall establish a national defense quantum informa-
tion science joint center of excellence (referred to in 
this section as the ‘Center’). 
‘‘(2) ORGANIZATION.—The Center shall be op-
erated by the Secretary of Defense and shall include 
participation from the following organizations: 
‘‘(A) One or more research laboratories of 
the Armed Forces. 
‘‘(B) A Department of Energy national 
laboratory. 
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‘‘(C) A federally funded research and de-
velopment center or a university-affiliated re-
search center. 
‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Secretary shall establish 
the Center at a location in the United States that 
is reasonably accessible to each organization de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—The Center shall carry out 
the following activities: 
‘‘(A) Facilitate QIS technology transition 
and workforce development activities. 
‘‘(B) Conduct outreach to enhance indus-
try and academia’s understanding of national 
security QIS technology use cases and current 
operational challenges faced by the Department. 
‘‘(C) Prototype QIS technologies, with pri-
ority given to the prototyping and transition of 
QIS-enabled position, navigation, and timing ef-
forts and quantum sensors at technology readi-
ness level six or higher. 
‘‘(D) Integrate the prototyping activities 
under subparagraph (C) with the needs of the 
unified combatant commands. 
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‘‘(E) Accelerate the transition of advanced 
QIS technology from the research and develop-
ment phase into operational use. 
‘‘(F) Expand the QIS workforce of the 
United States and the QIS workforces of na-
tions that are allies and partners of the United 
States. 
‘‘(5) CONTRACT
AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 
may make grants and enter into contracts and other 
agreements, on a competitive basis, to support the 
activities of the Center. 
‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2025 through 2029. 
‘‘(f) RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND WORKFORCE 
PLANNING.— 
‘‘(1) ENHANCEMENT OF RESEARCH OPPORTU-
NITIES.—Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
seek to increase opportunities for the study of QIS 
within— 
‘‘(A) the military service academies. 
‘‘(B) the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps; 
and 
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‘‘(C) other institutions and programs of 
the Department of Defense and the Armed 
Forces that provide postsecondary and graduate 
level education. 
‘‘(2) STANDARD
OPERATING
PROCEDURES.— 
The Secretary of Defense shall direct the chief of 
each Armed Force, in consultation with the heads of 
the research laboratories under the jurisdiction of 
such Armed Force— 
‘‘(A) to adopt internal standard operating 
procedures for QIS workforce development to 
monitor and evaluate progress toward human 
capital goals and human capital programmatic 
results; and 
‘‘(B) to involve top management, employ-
ees, and other stakeholders in QIS workforce 
planning by— 
‘‘(i) developing and implementing an 
enterprise-wide strategic quantum work-
force plan; and 
‘‘(ii) communicating quantum work-
force goals, initiatives, and metrics for 
evaluating success throughout each labora-
tory. 
‘‘(g) BUDGET REVIEW.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 
acting through the Under Secretary of Defense 
(Comptroller), shall require the Secretaries of the 
military departments and the heads of the Defense 
Agencies with responsibilities associated with any 
QIS activity to transmit the proposed budget for 
such activities for a fiscal year and for the period 
covered by the future-years defense program sub-
mitted to Congress under section 221 of title 10, 
United States Code, for that fiscal year to the Prin-
cipal Quantum Advisor for review before submitting 
the proposed budget to the Under Secretary of De-
fense (Comptroller). 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—The Principal 
Quantum Advisor shall review each proposed budget 
transmitted, and, not later than January 31 of the 
year preceding the fiscal year for which the budget 
is proposed, shall submit to the Secretary of Defense 
a report containing the comments of the Principal 
Quantum Advisor with respect to all such proposed 
budgets, together with the certification of the Prin-
cipal Quantum Advisor regarding whether each pro-
posed budget is adequate. 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
March 31 of each year, the Secretary of Defense 
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shall submit to Congress a report specifying each 
proposed budget that the Principal Quantum Advi-
sor did not certify to be adequate. The report of the 
Secretary shall include the following matters: 
‘‘(A) A discussion of the actions that the 
Secretary proposes to take, together with any 
recommended legislation that the Secretary con-
siders appropriate, to address the inadequacy of 
the proposed budgets specified in the report. 
‘‘(B) Any additional comments that the 
Secretary considers appropriate regarding the 
inadequacy of the proposed budgets. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘Five Eyes countries’ means the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Australia. 
‘‘(B) Canada. 
‘‘(C) New Zealand. 
‘‘(D) The United Kingdom. 
‘‘(E) The United States. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘quantum information science’ or 
‘QIS’ means the use of the laws of quantum physics 
for the storage, transmission, manipulation, com-
puting, or measurement of information.’’. 
Æ 
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