[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2998 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2998
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish the Defense Quantum
Information Consortium, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2018
Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish the Defense Quantum
Information Consortium, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Quantum Computing Research Act of
2018''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) focused and continued investment in the development of
viable quantum information science technology is vital to
national security;
(2) quantum information science should address two critical
development problems, namely quantum communication and quantum
computing;
(3) alignment of effort within the United States
government, academic, and private sectors are vital to ensuring
the best technology is made available for the defense of the
United States; and
(4) to the extent possible to protect national security,
work performed under section 3 should be maintained at the
lowest possible classification level to promote coordination
between consortium partners and growth within the field of
quantum information science.
SEC. 3. DEFENSE QUANTUM INFORMATION CONSORTIUM.
(a) Consortium.--
(1) Establishment.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall, in
coordination with the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, establish a consortium on
matters relating to quantum information sciences.
(B) Designation.--The consortium established under
paragraph (1) shall be known as the ``Defense Quantum
Information Consortium'' (in this section the
``Consortium'').
(2) Membership.--The Consortium shall consist of--
(A) one component composed of members selected by
the Chief of Naval Research from among institutions of
higher learning and industry partners located in the
eastern half of the United States which are recognized
for achievement in quantum information science; and
(B) one component composed of members selected by
the Director of the Army Research Laboratory from among
institutions of higher learning and industry partners
located in the western half of the United States which
are recognized for achievement in quantum information
science.
(3) Duties.--
(A) Chief of naval research.--The Chief of Naval
Research shall--
(i) coordinate and administer the grants
awarded under subsection (b) to members
selected under paragraph (2)(A); and
(ii) coordinate partnerships between such
members.
(B) Director of the army research laboratory.--The
Director of the Army Research Laboratory shall--
(i) coordinate and administer the grants
awarded under subsection (b) to members
selected under paragraph (2)(B); and
(ii) coordinate partnerships between such
members.
(b) Board.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall, in coordination
with the Director, establish a board to support the Consortium.
(2) Membership.--The board established under paragraph (1)
shall be composed of members as follows:
(A) The Chief of Naval Research and a designee of
the Chief.
(B) The Director of the Army Research Laboratory
and a designee of the Director.
(C) The Assistant Director of Quantum Information
Science at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(D) Members of the National Quantum Initiative
(NQI).
(3) Duties.--The duties of the board established under
paragraph (1) are as follows:
(A) To award grants under subsection (c).
(B) To assist with ongoing research being conducted
by members of the Consortium relating to quantum
information sciences.
(C) To facilitate partnerships between members of
the Consortium.
(c) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The board established under subsection
(b)(1) shall award grants to members of the Consortium to
conduct research on matters relating to quantum information
science.
(2) Application.--A member of the Consortium seeking a
grant under this subsection shall submit to the board
established under subsection (b)(1) an application therefor at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the board may prescribe.
(3) Selection.--
(A) Establishment of selection committees.--The
board established under subsection (b)(1) shall
establish a committee to select applicants for the
award of grants under this subsection.
(B) Selection process.--In selecting applicants for
awards of grants under this subsection, the committee
established under subparagraph (A) shall--
(i) develop a competitive application and
grant making process that furthers the goals of
ensuring the competitiveness of the United
States in quantum information science; and
(ii) exercise that process to solicit grant
applications from Consortium members, select
among applications, and grant high quality
awards.
(4) Conflicts of interest.--In any case in which a member
of the board established under subsection (b)(1) or the
committee established under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection
has a conflict of interest with an applicant or an application
for a grant under this subsection, such member shall recuse him
or herself from all matters relating to consideration of such
applicant or application.
(d) Termination.--The requirements and authorities of this section
shall terminate at the end of fiscal year 2024.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
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