RealClear Defense OP-ED: A Quantum Public Private Leap for America

This press release from Representative Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY) was published on 2026-06-15 and titled "RealClear Defense OP-ED: A Quantum Public Private Leap for America".

RealClear Defense OP-ED: A Quantum Public Private Leap for America

America must spur a quantum leap in our quantum computing capabilities. President Trump's recent announcement that the Department of Commerce will invest more than $2 billion into America's quantum computing sector while taking direct equity stakes to accelerate U.S. leadership marks a turning point in the global race for technological supremacy. The message is unmistakable and long overdue: quantum technology is no longer a theoretical research project confined to university laboratories. It is now a strategic national priority directly tied to America's economic strength, military dominance, and national security. Over a decade ago, in my second term of Congress, I served as Chair of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. This is considered a prestigious policy leading position because it focuses not on legacy defense systems and companies of the past century, but instead looks to the future, with an eye towards investment in cutting edge defense capabilities with nascent and fast developing technologies to win not only wars of today, but wars of the future. My office was one of the earliest in Congress to discuss the importance of quantum and we continue to lead by advancing strategic prioritization and funding for this advanced technology. And now after a decade, this investment is bearing real fruit with a geographic quantum center of excellence and innovation in my home district in Upstate New York. Quantum computing matters because it has the potential to solve extraordinarily complex problems exponentially faster than today's traditional computers by harnessing the principles of quantum mechanics. Instead of processing information solely as binary 0s and 1s, quantum systems use qubits capable of representing multiple states simultaneously unlocking unprecedented computing power for logistics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, materials science, advanced manufacturing, and national defense. The nations that lead in quantum technology will shape the strategic balance of the 21st century. America's next military advantage will not be determined solely by tanks, aircraft, or naval fleets. It will be determined by which nation leads in quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum sensing, and secure communications technologies. Quantum systems have the potential to transform encrypted communications, optimize military logistics, improve battlefield awareness in GPS-denied environments, strengthen cyber defense, accelerate artificial intelligence, and fundamentally reshape modern warfare. The Department of War has made clear that we are in an era of renewed strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party and other adversaries. Beijing is investing aggressively in quantum technologies because it understands exactly what is at stake. If America fails to lead in this domain the consequences will extend far beyond economics, they will directly impact deterrence, intelligence superiority, and battlefield readiness. Recognizing the urgency of this challenge, Congress took an important step forward through passage of the bipartisan National Quantum Initiative Act, which established the first coordinated federal framework for advancing quantum research across the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The legislation acknowledged that maintaining American leadership in quantum science beyond just laboratory experimentation was essential to protecting both our economic competitiveness and our national security. That is why I worked in Congress to build a full-scale national quantum ecosystem supporting not only quantum computing itself, but also quantum networking infrastructure, photonic semiconductor manufacturing, workforce development, quantum sensing, and secure communications systems capable of supporting military operations in contested environments. I was proud to help lead these efforts through the Defense Quantum Acceleration Act, legislation designed to establish a Principal Quantum Advisor within the Department of War and create a Defense Quantum Technology Testbed to accelerate the transition of quantum technologies from research to operational capability. The legislation recognizes a simple reality: the Pentagon needs a deliberate, coordinated strategy to identify, prototype, scale, and deploy quantum systems across the military services before our adversaries do. Congress has also supported DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, a first-of-its-kind effort aimed at rigorously evaluating competing approaches to utility-scale quantum computing and identifying which technologies can solve real-world national security problems. In recent defense appropriations bills, I worked to secure significant federal investments supporting quantum research, networking infrastructure, and advanced computing initiatives at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York which