Congressional App Challenge

Each fall, a nationwide middle and high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional App Challenge is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the STEM talent across the nation in every Congressional District. Each participating Member of Congress will name a winner to represent their district.

The Congressional App Challenge is open to all middle and high school students in California's Sixth Congressional District. The winning app of our district's competition will be featured on the House.gov website and the CongressionalAppChallenge.us website. Winning students are invited to the Spring 2026 #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the winners will receive a copyright fee waiver provided through the ARTS Act.

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 30th, 2025.
LOCATION: Students are only allowed to compete in a Congressional District which is hosting an App Challenge. 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.

If you would like more information on the annual Congressional App Challenge, or to register and submit, please click here.

2024 Winners –– "Quit Together"

Last year, I had the honor of naming Daksh Mamnani, Srimadhav Malavathu, Aatreyo Bhattacharyya, and Kashish Vankayala of Mira Loma High School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge.

Their app, QuitTogether, is as a practical and thoughtful tool to help their peers quit vaping. The app offers a goal tracker, an AI-powered assistant for support, a daily news section and a clinic locator—giving students real resources to help them on their journey.

When I asked what motivated them to create this app, they described how vaping has become a daily disruption at school—false alarms blaring in classrooms, bathrooms filled with smoke and students turning to nicotine without fully understanding the risks. They saw a real gap in resources for teenagers trying to quit, especially since vaping is often viewed as a "safer" alternative to smoking, despite its serious health risks. After speaking with people in rehab, they realized just how hard it is to find support tailored for young people. Their app is a direct response to that need.

Last year's Congressional App Challenge saw a record number of students across our nation competing, each harnessing the power of technology to tackle real-world problems. Meeting young innovators like these gives me so much hope for the future.

Learn more about their app here.