[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CELEBRATING NATIONAL APP CHALLENGE DAY

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                            HON. KIM SCHRIER

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 2025

  Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate 
September 17, 2025, as the second annual National App Challenge Day. 
This day honors the ingenuity, creativity, and technical skill of 
middle and high school students nationwide who are building tools that 
improve their communities and strengthen our country's future.
  National App Challenge Day highlights the Congressional App 
Challenge, a bipartisan, House-sponsored initiative that invites 
students from every congressional district to learn to code, apply 
their skills to real-world problems, and share their solutions with 
their Representatives. What began as a simple invitation to experiment 
with computer science has grown into a movement that now spans all 50 
states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories. 
Since the first App Challenge was held in 2015, more than 70,000 
students have coded over 12,000 unique apps, supported by tens of 
thousands of educators, mentors, and volunteer judges each year.
  The Congressional App Challenge also enjoys overwhelming bipartisan 
support. In the 118th Congress, 412 Members, representing 95 percent of 
the House of Representatives, hosted at least one Challenge in their 
districts. This remarkable level of participation underscores a shared 
commitment across party lines to empowering America's youth and 
strengthening the Nation's leadership in STEM education.
  Through this Challenge, students gain far more than programming 
experience. They learn to work in teams, think critically, communicate 
clearly, and iterate on their ideas. They identify local needs and 
build apps that address them, from expanding access to educational 
resources and civic information to supporting public health, safety, 
and environmental resilience. In classrooms, after-school programs, 
libraries, youth centers, and homes, the Congressional App Challenge 
opens doors to opportunity and helps develop the next generation of 
American innovators.
  Today's observance also honors the teachers, mentors, parents, 
community partners, and industry volunteers who devote their time and 
expertise to guiding student creators. Their encouragement ensures that 
a student's curiosity can become a prototype, that a prototype can 
become a working product, and that each working product can inspire 
peers to imagine what is possible with technology.
  As we mark National App Challenge Day, let us reaffirm our commitment 
to hands-on STEM education and to equitable pathways into the 
innovation economy. Investing in our students' potential strengthens 
the workforce, supports American competitiveness, and sustains the 
spirit of problem solving that has long defined our Nation.
  I encourage all Members of the House and their constituents to join 
me in celebrating National App Challenge Day. Let us recognize the 
remarkable achievements of these young coders and continue supporting 
initiatives that cultivate creativity, expand opportunity, and empower 
students to build solutions that serve their neighbors and their 
Nation.

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