Quantum stimulus: Congress sends computing proposal to Trump A proposal to pump more than $1B into helping the US tech industry develop powerful 'quantum computers' is now on the desk of President Trump

WASHINGTON -- A proposal that could pump more than $1 billion into helping the U.S. tech industry develop powerful "quantum computers" is now on the desk of President Donald Trump.

Congress sent the bill to the White House this week after it passed easily in both chambers.

Quantum computers don't really exist yet in a useful form, but tech firms Google, IBM, Intel and a growing number of startups are working to build them.

The National Quantum Initiative Act would create a 10-year federal program to accelerate research and development of the esoteric technology. Scientists hope government backing will attract more people to their field.

The legislation was fueled in part by lawmakers' fear of growing competition from China and concerns that quantum computers could one day break today's best cryptography codes.