Every year we challenge students in our districts to create and submit their original apps for a chance to win the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Each challenge is district-specific. As U.S. Representatives we publicly recognize our winning teams and each winning app may be put on display in the U.S. Capitol Building for one year. Additional prizes may be available. The Congressional Internet Caucus initiates the annual CAC. We have appointed the non-profit Internet Education Foundation to provide the CAC with supplemental staffing and support.
Eligibility Requirements
- To be eligible to participate in the Congressional App Challenge, you must be a middle or high school student at the time of app submission.
- Students may register as individuals or as teams of up to four. No more than four students are allowed to form a team.
- Students may compete in the district they reside in or the district they attend school in.
- If competing as a team, at least half of the teammates must be eligible to compete in the district in which they are participating in.
- All competing students must be U.S. residents at the time of submission. There is no citizen requirement for students.g
Deadline
- October
Application or Entry Requirements
- To register as an individual, students need:
- a personal email address that is not their school email account
- home’s 9-digit zip code, Congressional District, and Member of Congress
- school’s 9-digit zip code, Congressional District, and Member of Congress
- A parent or guardian’s contact information (name and email address).
- Name and email of student’s coding teacher or mentor (optional)
- To register as a team, you’ll need:
- The above information for each team member.
- One team may participate ONCE as a group.
- 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.
- CONTENT SUITABILITY:The app cannot be indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, demonstrate a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, adversely affect the reputation of Congressional districts, or depict hatred, defame, or threaten a specific community in the society or incite violence. Contain pornography, obscenity or sexual activity are prohibited. The app must not violate the Intellectual Property, common law or privacy rights of other parties.
- 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.
- The app must have been created after October 31st of the prior year
- Each individual/team will need to submit a 1-3 minute demonstration video
Notifications of Decisions
- Winners are announced in December
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
- The Challenge opens in May
Have other questions?
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, which is the legislative branch of the federal government of the nation. The House is responsible for introducing and passing bills, as well as conducting oversight of the executive branch. The House of Representatives is composed of 435 members who are elected every two years from congressional districts across the country. Each district is represented by one member, with the number of districts in each state determined by population. The House also has a number of committees and subcommittees, which are responsible for overseeing specific policy areas such as agriculture, education, and energy.
