Quantum Computing News, Quantum Policy

Congress: Lawler & Ryan Bill Creates 11-Member Quantum Computing Commission

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June 22, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

An 11-member bipartisan national security commission will be established to evaluate advancements in quantum computing under legislation proposed by Representatives Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Pat Ryan (NY-18). The National Security Commission on Quantum Computing Act aims to ensure the United States maintains its technological advantage in a field with implications for national security, economic competitiveness, and military applications. “Quantum computing has the potential to transform our economy, strengthen our national defense, and reshape the future of technological innovation,” said Congressman Lawler. Congressman Ryan, drawing on his experience on the Armed Services Committee, stated, “I’ve seen firsthand how quickly technological superiority can determine the outcome of a conflict,” underscoring the urgency of securing American leadership in this rapidly developing area.

National Security Commission on Quantum Computing Established

This bipartisan effort signals a focused intent to maintain American leadership in a field with profound implications for both economic growth and national defense. The commission’s mandate extends beyond purely military applications to encompass scientific research, workforce development, and broader economic competitiveness. Beyond immediate security concerns, the commission is tasked with assessing educational and workforce needs, ensuring the United States possesses a skilled talent pool capable of driving future innovation in quantum computing, and will deliver recommendations to both Congress and the executive branch to solidify U.S. leadership in the field. The bill’s full text is publicly available, outlining the scope and authority of this newly proposed body.

Quantum computing has the potential to transform our economy, strengthen our national defense, and reshape the future of technological innovation.

Lawler’s record as the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, ranked eighth overall, highlights his ability to drive legislation forward, while Ryan’s commitment to bolstering defense and economic development through technological advancement further solidifies the bipartisan support for this initiative. The commission’s mandate to strengthen public-private partnerships and evaluate education needs suggests a holistic approach to fostering a robust quantum ecosystem within the United States.

I’ve seen firsthand how quickly technological superiority can determine the outcome of a conflict.

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Avatar of Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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