The annual Congressional App Challenge works to inspire students in congressional districts across the country through hands-on practice with coding and computer science. The contest is an opportunity for young people to cultivate their skills in these STEM disciplines and to begin thinking about their futures in any of the many industries that will rely on emerging technologies and STEM innovation in the coming years. Additionally, the competition seeks to actively include students from communities that have been underrepresented in the tech industry, and encourage them to envision a future in this important field.
The winning app of our district’s competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, a Copyright Fee Waiver provided through the ARTS Act, their app featured on the Congressional App Challenge webpage, and an invitation to attend a winner’s celebration inside the U.S. Capitol called #HouseOfCode. The winning artwork is also featured on the U.S. House’s Congressional App Challenge website.
The following is a summary of the Congressional App Challenge rules:
Eligibility Criteria:
- AGE: Students must be in middle school or high school on October 24th, 2024.
- LOCATION: Participating students may compete in either the district in which they reside, or the district in which they attend school. Participants may compete only in one single district. There is no citizenship requirement, but all students competing in the Congressional App Challenge must be U.S. residents.
- TEAMS: Students can compete as individuals, or in teams of up to four (4) students.
- Any team with more than four (4) students is not eligible to compete.
- At least half of teammates on any team must live or attend school in the same Congressional District.
- PRIOR PROJECTS: Students may submit any app they’ve created after the previous year’s contest.
- ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER YEAR: Students may only submit ONE app per year. Multiple entries across multiple teams is not allowed.
App Parameters:
- TOPIC: The app can be about any topic.
- PLATFORM: The app can be on any platform (web app, desktop/PC app, a web
browser extension, robot, Ruby on Rails, mobile, etc). - PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE: Use any programming language: C/C++, Objective C, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Swift, “block code”, etc.
- FUNCTIONALITY: The app must have some degree of functionality to be competitive.
- ORIGINALITY: The app must be original and solely owned by the Contestant such that no other party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown.
Applications are due to my office on Thursday, October 30, 2025. Please call (703) 987-2180 with any questions.