APP Act

To establish a website for Federal Government apps, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Advancing and Promoting Programming Act APP Act 2. Findings; sense of Congress (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Eighty-four percent of leading app makers are outside Silicon Valley, and 83 percent are small businesses. (2) Millions have participated in the Hour of Code, which teaches the fundamental components of computer programming. (3) The Congressional App Challenge is an officially sanctioned competition to promote computer science education and demonstrate the value of coding to the next generation. (4) Computer Science majors earn 40 percent more than the average college graduates. (5) In 2016, China surpassed the United States in app store revenue. (6) The current extent of a Federal mobile app directory exists as a text list on a General Services Administration website. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) computer science skills are critical to a burgeoning technology industry, and will provide high-quality jobs for America’s future workforce; (2) the Federal Government has an obligation to provide information and services through a means that meets the technology demands of our changing society; and (3) among other fields, computer programming jobs are a way to ensure America keeps the highest-quality jobs and remains a world economic leader. 3. Federal Government website for apps (a) Establishment of website Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall establish a publicly available website that includes a database of Federal funding opportunities for the creation of apps, allows the public to download a Federal Government app that has been made available to the public, and includes the following: (1) A list of each funding source (including grants and prizes) for the creation and maintenance of Federal Government apps and how an applicant may apply for such funding, including resources such as grants.gov, challenge.gov, and the Small Business Innovation Research program. (2) The ability for the public to rate and review any such Federal Government app. (3) A page that prominently displays apps that have been recently updated or that receive a high user review average under paragraph (2). (4) A page that features Government projects that provide application developers with tools to improve private apps, such as data.gov and developer.epa.gov. (5) Resources for education and training related to the creation of apps. (6) A page that features outstanding, educational, computer science programs, determined by the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the National Science Foundation, and resources to replicate such programs. (b) Review and removal of outdated apps The Administrator of General Services shall review any app for which an update has not been released in more than 2 years and shall remove any app from the website described in subsection (a) that is no longer functional or compatible. (c) App defined In this section, the term app

Summary: Advancing and Promoting Programming or the APP Act This bill establishes a centralized website to provide information regarding sources of federal funding for the creation of apps (software applications that enable the performance of specific tasks that may be run on a computer, mobile device, or any other electronic device). The website must also allow the public to download publicly available federal government apps. Specifically, the bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a publicly available website that includes a database of federal funding opportunities for the creation of apps, options for rating and reviewing apps, tools for app developers, and resources related to education and training in computer science. The GSA shall review any app for which an update has not been released in more than two years and shall remove any app from the website that is no longer functional or compatible.