Federal quantum innovation funding spreads beyond tech hubs to regional economies
H.R. 6351 — Advancing Regional Quantum Hubs Act · Filed by Laura Gillen (D-NY) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 2, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the National Quantum Initiative Act to require federal agencies to support regional innovation hubs focused on quantum information science and technology. It adds the Economic Development Administration to the coordinating agencies, directs the National Quantum Initiative to facilitate interagency partnerships that help regions with quantum strengths address regional and national challenges, and explicitly authorizes funding for regional quantum initiatives in collaboration with the Commerce and Energy Departments.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to expand federal coordination and funding for distributed quantum innovation hubs across regions, not to create a single national program or to deregulate. It is fundamentally about infrastructure and interagency partnership to support regional economic development in an emerging technology sector.
What the text implies
- The bill references section 10388 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (RDIA), which already authorizes regional quantum hub funding; this amendment may clarify or expand the National Quantum Initiative's role in administering or coordinating those awards, but the actual scope depends on how RDIA section 10388 is written.
- By adding EDA to the coordinating agencies, the bill may shift quantum innovation policy toward economic development and regional equity rather than purely research-focused goals, potentially affecting how federal quantum funding is allocated geographically.
- The mandate to 'facilitate interagency partnership opportunities' is aspirational language that does not appropriate funds or create binding obligations; implementation depends on agency discretion and existing budget authority.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands federal support for regional innovation in quantum technology, potentially creating jobs, research opportunities, and economic development in underserved regions outside major tech hubs. It increases transparency and coordination among federal agencies (Commerce, Energy, NSF, EDA) to support entrepreneurship and research capacity in quantum fields, which benefits citizens in participating regions through economic opportunity and strengthened regional competitiveness.
Who stands to gain
- regional quantum research institutions and universities
- quantum technology startups and small businesses in participating regions
- regional economic development organizations
Named in the bill
National Quantum Initiative Act, Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation (NSF), Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (RDIA), section 10388 (RDIA), section 103 (NQI Act), section 301 (NQI Act), section 401 (NQI Act)
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Dec 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 9 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Laura Gillen, the sponsor, reported $1,050,999 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Bluefors Inc. — $40,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 10, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,965 characters) on Oct 26, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,580 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 10, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-26.
“Federal quantum innovation funding spreads beyond tech hubs to regional economies” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr6351 Report an error
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