Ranking Member Lofgren Opening Statement at Hearing on Quantum Technology
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below:
Thank you, Chairman Babin, for holding today’s hearing. I would also like to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses. Thank you for volunteering your time and expertise.
For decades, the United States enjoyed being the global leader in quantum information science in terms of both research output and investment across every quantum application and modality. Our leadership was built upon a foundation of investments and efforts at all levels - in academia, industry, and our federal government. The U.S. government has been the primary supporter of openly published quantum research, totaling nearly $1 billion in investments in 2023.
However, we are now facing a peer competitor to the United States in quantum applications. In 2024, the Chinese Communist Party invested more than four times the United States in quantum R&D. In 2025, the CCP announced a $138 billion fund to support their public-private partnerships in emerging technologies, including quantum computing. In terms of quality of research and technology development, China has also caught up.
Chinese industry leads in certain global market segments, including quantum communications.
U.S. leadership in quantum technologies stands at an inflection point. We can renew our commitment to leadership through actions - not just words - or be left behind.
To start, it is critically important for this Committee to take up a reauthorization of the National Quantum Initiative Act. I am excited to be working with you on this bill, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you for your leadership on this matter.
Maintaining global leadership in quantum technology also requires us to avoid getting in our own way. The current chaos we are seeing in our federal government only emboldens our adversaries.
If we are to win the race on quantum, we need each of our federal agencies—including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy, and NASA—to be fully staffed and resourced. Congress, fortunately, rejected the Trump Administration’s destructive budget proposal and provided strong support for the agencies critical to U.S. quantum leadership. I hope the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request is not a repeat of this year’s.
If we are to win the race on quantum, we can’t only fund programs with “quantum” in their name. Many fields and disciplines make up the backbone of U.S. quantum research and the quantum workforce. A cut to physics is a cut to quantum. A cut to mathematics is a cut to quantum. A cut to engineering is a cut to quantum. We need more federal support to generate interest in these feeder fields, not less.
If we are to win the race on quantum, the United States must have a quantum capable workforce. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is simultaneously turning away foreign talent while also canceling programs to train domestic talent. During our previous quantum hearing, I highlighted several quantum workforce programs at universities across the country that had their grants terminated. And since that time, the Administration has increased pressure on foreign talent through visa fees, rejections, and intimidation. If the United States is not the destination for global quantum talent, then other nations certainly will be.
Finally, if we are to win the race on quantum, we have to address the severe supply chain challenges that are preventing industry and academia from building quantum machines in America. The President’s unilateral, and likely illegal, imposition of tariffs, have created additional costs and vulnerabilities for new and innovative domestic industries like the quantum industry. Quantum supply chains are thin, and oftentimes the only suppliers of critical equipment and critical materials are offshore. Tariffs on this equipment doesn’t help American manufacturers, it hurts them. My staff talked to one quantum company last year that had to pay a seven-figure tariff on a single piece of equipment from Europe. And the chaotic manner the Administration has approached tariff policy has only made this worse. Why just the other day Trump threatened additional tariffs on Europe because of his bizarre Greenland obsession. This chaos is forcing quantum start ups to question whether America can be a reliable base of manufacturing.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the challenges facing our quantum industry – and hopefully to find a more willing partner in the executive branch in this endeavor. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about these challenges and others during today’s hearing.
Thank you and I yield back.
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