QUANTUM for National Security Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1197 To amend title 10, United States Code, to apply public-private talent exchange programs in the Department of Defense to quantum information sciences and technology research, to increase coordination across agencies and emphasize opportunities in the Department for quantum information sciences and technology research, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 15, 2021 Ms. HASSAN (for herself and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to apply public- private talent exchange programs in the Department of Defense to quantum information sciences and technology research, to increase coordination across agencies and emphasize opportunities in the Department for quantum information sciences and technology research, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quantum for Universal 4 Advancement in Nationwide Technology Use and Mod- 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1197 IS ernization for National Security Act of 2021’’ or the 1 ‘‘QUANTUM for National Security Act of 2021’’. 2 SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE TALENT EX- 3 CHANGE PROGRAMS IN THE DEPARTMENT 4 OF DEFENSE TO QUANTUM INFORMATION 5 SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH. 6 (a) QUANTUM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RE- 7 SEARCH AS A MODERNIZATION PRIORITY.—Section 8 1102(b)(1) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National 9 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public 10 Law 116–283) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including quan- 11 tum science and technology research’’ after ‘‘moderniza- 12 tion priorities of the Department of Defense’’. 13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE EX- 14 CHANGE PROGRAMS.—In carrying out section 1599g of 15 title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense 16 shall seek to achieve, in the Army, Navy, and Marine 17 Corps, the establishment of public-private exchange pro- 18 grams, comparable to the Air Force Education with Indus- 19 try Program, each with up to 10 program participants, 20 focused on private sector entities working on quantum in- 21 formation sciences and technology research applications. 22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM BILLET OF- 23 FICE.—The Secretary shall establish a public-private ex- 24 change program billet office to temporarily hold billets for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1197 IS civilian employees who participate in programs described 1 in such section, to ensure that participating Department 2 of Defense offices are able to retain their staffing levels 3 during the period of participation. 4 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND 5 RESEARCH FOR TRANSFORMATION (SMART) 6 DEFENSE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 7 (a) PILOT SUBPROGRAM.—Section 2192a of title 10, 8 United States Code, as amended by section 242 of the Wil- 9 liam M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authoriza- 10 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283), is 11 amended— 12 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (h) 13 as subsections (c) through (i); 14 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 15 lowing new subsection: 16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT FOR PILOT SUBPROGRAM.—(1) 17 As a subprogram of the program under subsection (a), the 18 Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to 19 be known as the ‘National Security Pipeline Pilot Pro- 20 gram’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Pilot Program’) 21 under which the Secretary shall seek to enter into partner- 22 ships with minority-serving institutions to diversify the 23 participants in the program under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1197 IS ‘‘(2) Under the Pilot Program, the Secretary of De- 1 fense shall— 2 ‘‘(A) provide an appropriate amount of financial 3 assistance under subsection (c) to an eligible indi- 4 vidual; 5 ‘‘(B) provide such financial assistance to recipi- 6 ents in conjunction with summer internship opportu- 7 nities or other meaningful temporary appointments 8 within the Department; and 9 ‘‘(C) periodically evaluate the success of recruit- 10 ing individuals for scholarships under this subsection 11 and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the 12 public sector workforce. 13 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than the date that is three years 14 after the date of the enactment of the Quantum for Uni- 15 versal Advancement in Nationwide Technology Use and 16 Modernization for National Security Act of 2021, the Sec- 17 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 18 committees a report on the Pilot Program. 19 ‘‘(B) The report submitted under subparagraph (A) 20 shall include the following: 21 ‘‘(i) Identification of the following: 22 ‘‘(I) The number of students participating 23 in the Pilot Program as of the date of the re- 24 port. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1197 IS ‘‘(II) The fields of study pursued by such 1 students. 2 ‘‘(III) The minority-serving institutions at 3 which such students are enrolled. 4 ‘‘(ii) An evaluation of the success of the Pilot 5 Program in recruiting individuals for scholarships 6 under this section and hiring and retaining those in- 7 dividuals in the public sector workforce. 8 ‘‘(4) After the date that is five years after the date 9 of the enactment of the Quantum for Universal Advance- 10 ment in Nationwide Technology Use and Modernization 11 for National Security Act of 2021, the Secretary shall ter- 12 minate the Pilot Program or continue the Pilot Program 13 as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’; 14 (3) in subsection (c)(1), as so redesignated— 15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 16 section (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 17 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sub- 18 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 19 (4) by amending subsection (i), as so redesig- 20 nated, to read as follows: 21 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible individual’ means an in- 23 dividual who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1197 IS ‘‘(A) is pursuing an associate’s degree, un- 1 dergraduate degree, or advanced degree; and 2 ‘‘(B) is— 3 ‘‘(i) a member of a group that is 4 underrepresented in the fields of science 5 and engineering, including women; or 6 ‘‘(ii) is enrolled in a degree-program 7 at a minority-serving institution. 8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 9 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 11 1001). 12 ‘‘(3) The term ‘minority-serving institution’ 13 means an institution of higher education that is eli- 14 gible under section 371(a) of the Higher Education 15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)).’’. 16 (b) ADDITIONAL MODIFICATIONS.—Such section 17 2192a is further amended— 18 (1) in subsection (d), as redesignated by sub- 19 section (a)(1), by adding at the end the following 20 new paragraphs: 21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall, to the degree the Secretary 22 considers practicable and appropriate, allow a person re- 23 ceiving financial assistance under this section to delay 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1197 IS completion of the person’s service obligation under this 1 section until the person has completed— 2 ‘‘(A) the terminal degree program of education 3 that is typically expected in the field the person is 4 pursuing; or 5 ‘‘(B) a post-graduate fellowship at a non-De- 6 partment laboratory. 7 ‘‘(5) In employing participants during the period of 8 obligated service, the Secretary shall strive to ensure that 9 participants are compensated, to the extent practicable, at 10 a rate that is comparable to the rate of compensation for 11 employment in a similar position in the private sector.’’; 12 (2) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i), 13 as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), as subsections 14 (f) through (j), respectively; 15 (3) in subsection (h), as so redesignated— 16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Sec- 17 retary of Defense shall’’; and 18 (B) by adding at the end the following new 19 paragraph: 20 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall establish or 21 designate an organization within the Department of De- 22 fense which shall have primary responsibility for building 23 cohesion and collaboration across the various scholarship 24 and employment programs of the Department. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1197 IS ‘‘(B) The organization described in subparagraph (A) 1 shall have the following duties— 2 ‘‘(i) establish an interconnected network and 3 database across the science, technology, engineering, 4 and mathematics scholarship and employment pro- 5 grams of the Department, including, at a minimum 6 the SMART Defense Education Program, the De- 7 fense Civilian Training Corps, the National Defense 8 Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the 9 Army AEOP apprenticeship program, and the Con- 10 sortium Research Fellows Program; 11 ‘‘(ii) aid in matching scholarships to individuals 12 pursuing courses of study in in-demand skill areas; 13 and 14 ‘‘(iii) build a network of program participants, 15 past, present, and future whom DOD departments 16 can draw on to fill skills gaps. 17 ‘‘(C) On an annual basis, the organization described 18 in subparagraph (A) shall publish, on a publicly accessible 19 website of the Department of Defense, an annual report 20 on the workforce requirements and expected future needs 21 of the civilian workforce of the Department of Defense.’’; 22 (4) by redesignating subsection (j), as redesig- 23 nated by paragraph (2), as subsection (k); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1197 IS (5) by inserting after subsection (i), as redesig- 1 nated by paragraph (2), the following new sub- 2 section: 3 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULES.—(1) The Secretary shall strive, 4 in each year of the program under this section and to the 5 greatest extent feasible, to increase the number of appli- 6 cants pursuing degrees in quantum sciences or a related 7 field of study. 8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall strive to ensure that, in each 9 year of the program under this section, at least one new 10 graduate level participant is studying in an advanced 11 quantum research field. 12 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall consider emerging tech- 13 nologies, such as quantum computing and information 14 sciences and artificial intelligence, as skills and disciplines 15 that are critical to the national security functions of the 16 Department of Defense. 17 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall encourage increased partici- 18 pation in the program under this section by students 19 studying relevant cross-disciplinary educational tracks 20 that touch on more than one area of science, technology, 21 engineering, and mathematics. 22 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall treat optics, photonics, and 23 quantum information sciences as disciplines eligible for the 24 program under this section.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1197 IS (c) REPORT.—Not later than three years after the 1 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 2 shall submit to Congress a report on participation and use 3 of the program under section 2192a of title 10, United 4 States Code, as amended by this subsection, with a par- 5 ticular focus on levels of interest from students engaged 6 in studying quantum fields. 7 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 8 DEFENSE TO AWARD GRANTS TO SUPPORT 9 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 10 MATHEMATICS EDUCATION. 11 Section 2036(g)(2) of title 10, United States Code, 12 as added by section 513 of the William M. (Mac) Thorn- 13 berry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 14 2021 (Public Law 116–283), is amended— 15 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (J) through 16 (M) as subparagraphs (K) through (N), respectively; 17 and 18 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(J) quantum information sciences;’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1197 IS SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FELLOWSHIPS IN QUAN- 1 TUM INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECH- 2 NOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 3 Section 234 of the John S. McCain National Defense 4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115– 5 232; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note), as amended by section 214 6 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Au- 7 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116– 8 283), is further amended— 9 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 10 section (g); and 11 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 12 lowing new subsection (f): 13 ‘‘(f) FELLOWSHIPS.— 14 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—In carrying out the 15 program required by subsection (a), the Secretary 16 shall, pursuant to another provision of law or 17 through another graduate and postdoctoral fellow- 18 ship program that was in effect on the day before 19 the date of the enactment of the Quantum for Uni- 20 versal Advancement in Nationwide Technology Use 21 and Modernization for National Security Act of 22 2021, such as the National Defense Science and En- 23 gineering Graduate Fellowship Program, carry out a 24 program of fellowships in quantum information 25 science and technology research and development for 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:29 May 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1197.IS S1197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1197 IS individuals who have graduate or post-graduate de- 1 grees. 2 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall award 3 fellowships under the program [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]