Pentagon plans quantum sensor projects and works with firms.
S. 5139 — National Quantum Readiness Act of 2026 · Filed by Mike Rounds (R-SD) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill tells the Defense Department to pick three quantum sensor projects. They must be ready by September 2028. Four federal offices must make a plan within 120 days. The plan will use prizes to help private firms build quantum tools in the United States. The Defense Department must give more people access to quantum research labs and supply chains within 180 days.
Who it affects
The Defense Department, Commerce Department, Energy Department, and National Science Foundation are involved. Private firms that work on quantum tools are affected. Citizens may gain from stronger defense and American tool leadership.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say how much money will be spent. It does not say which firms can get help or how the government will report what happened. No deadline says when the program must end.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jul 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 27, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
7 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 7 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.
Those reports show $70,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 9 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.
More groups named this bill than 86% of bills with any report.
Mike Rounds, who sponsored the bill, received $1,722,790 from PACs for the 2026 election.
- American Benefits Council — $30,000 in 1 report
- Empower Retirement LLC — $10,000 in 1 report
- Lincoln National Corporation — $10,000 in 1 report
- Metlife, Inc. — $10,000 in 1 report
- State Street Global Advisors Trust Company — $10,000 in 1 report
Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.
Words to know
- quantum sensor — A tool that uses quantum physics to detect or measure things very precisely.
- supply chains — The path materials and parts take from makers to users.
- lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
- PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
- sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,702 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 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 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-11-01.
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