WASHINGTON — Quantum science experts failed to address a Republican lawmaker’s concern over U.S. institutions training students from competing countries at “a massive scale” at a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing Thursday morning.
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., asked witnesses how to solve the security problem of educating students from competing countries who intend to leave the U.S. upon graduation. He expressed that even though these students are unable to bring back the research they conducted in the U.S., they can apply what they have learned in their home country.
“You have two AI columns being researched at Georgia Tech right now with a tremendous number of foreign students, who then graduate, don’t stay here [the U.S.], go back to their countries, whether it be China, or India, or wherever else,” McCormick said. “How do we protect our technologies? What are we going to do to make sure that we are not basically putting other countries at a peer-level, if not, ahead of us in the near future?”
Dr. Saul Gonzalez, the Deputy Directorate Head for the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the National Science Foundation, said that the question was “outside his jurisdiction.” Other witnesses from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Energy did not comment.
This surfaced during the committee’s discussion on the extent of U.S. investments in quantum education, research and development. Quantum science and technology are crucial to American defense operations, from inspecting satellite communications to decrypting credit card information. Falling behind global competitors, including China, Russia and the European Union, would not only allow competitors to find loopholes but also deter the U.S.’s strategic advantage in military operations.
Democrats argued that international students are crucial in keeping federal agencies, such as NASA and NSF, fully staffed and resourced. However, they also noted the challenges of sourcing international talent with Trump’s recent budget cuts to research institutions, VISA restrictions on several foreign countries and ongoing tensions with China.
“We need to open up those doors of opportunity to higher education, and that is something this administration has not made a priority,” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore, said. “ … We know that quantum leadership grows from classrooms, and laboratories, and a workforce that can trust the federal government to show up consistently, and if we cut that funding, if we shove the expertise and if we destabilize educational pipelines, talent will leave and competitors will surge ahead.”
Like McCormick, Republicans expressed security concerns over training students from competing countries, particularly China, due to its early investments in quantum communications and massive advancements in quantum technology.
Although China is the U.S.’s chief competitor, lawmakers also discussed the need to rely on China and other nations to get materials for creating quantum technology. Yet, they addressed how President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs complicate global supply chains.
“Quantum supply chains are thin, and oftentimes the only suppliers of critical equipment and critical materials are offshore,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Ca., said. “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.”
Dr. Tanner Crowder, the Quantum Information Science Lead at the Office of Science at the Department of Energy, added that it is important to understand “what technologies and what materials we need to work hard to onshore and frontshore.”
Some lawmakers agreed that the numerous challenges surrounding education and tariffs raised in the hearing pose a challenge to U.S. leadership in quantum science.
“U.S. leadership in quantum technologies stands at an inflection point,” Lofgren said. “We can renew our commitment to leadership through actions — not just words — or be left behind.”
