I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 10333 
To establish a hackathon program in the Department of Defense, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 10, 2024 
Mr. BACON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To establish a hackathon program in the Department of 
Defense, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defense Hackathon 
Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE HACKATHON PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Digital and 
Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Department of De-
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fense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff and the Chief Information Officer of the 
Department of Defense, shall establish a program (to be 
known as the ‘‘Department of Defense Hackathon Pro-
gram’’) under which the commanders of combatant com-
mands and the Secretaries of the military departments 
shall carry out not fewer than four Hackathons each year. 
(b) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The Chief Digital and 
Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Department of De-
fense shall develop and implement standards for carrying 
out Hackathons, provide supporting technical infrastruc-
ture to the host of each Hackathon, and determine the 
hosts each year under subsection (c)(1). 
(c) HOSTS.—(1)(A) Each year, two commanders of 
combatant commands shall each carry out a Hackathon 
and two Secretaries of military departments shall each 
carry out a Hackathon, as determined by the Chief Digital 
and Artificial Intelligence Officer of the Department of 
Defense in accordance with this subsection. 
(B) The commanders of combatant com-
mands and the Secretaries of military depart-
ments carrying out Hackathons pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) shall change each year. 
(C) Each host of a Hackathon shall— 
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(i) provide to the participants invited 
to participate in such Hackathon a per 
diem allowance in accordance with section 
5702 of title 5, United States Code, or sec-
tion 452 of title, United States Code, as 
applicable; and 
(ii) not later than 60 days after the 
completion of such Hackathon, make avail-
able to the Department of Defense a re-
port on such Hackathon. 
(2) Any commander of a combatant command or Sec-
retary of a military department may carry out a 
Hackathon in addition to the Hackathons required under 
paragraph (1). 
(d) HACKATHON OBJECTIVES.—(1) The host of each 
Hackathon shall establish objectives for the Hackathon 
that address a critical, technical challenge of the combat-
ant command or military department of the host, as appli-
cable, through the use of individuals with specialized and 
relevant skills, including data scientists, developers, soft-
ware engineers, and other specialists as determined appro-
priate by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Offi-
cer of the Department of Defense or the host. 
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(2) In addition to the objectives established by the 
host of a Hackathon under paragraph (1), the objectives 
for each Hackathon shall include— 
(A) fostering innovation across the Department 
of Defense, including in military departments and 
the combatant commands; and 
(B) creating repeatable processes enabling the 
commanders of combatant commands and the Secre-
taries of the military departments to more rapidly 
identify and develop solutions to critical, technical 
challenges across the Department of Defense. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Hackathon’’ means an event car-
ried out under the Program at which employees 
across the Department of Defense meet to collabo-
ratively attempt to develop functional software or 
hardware solutions during the event to solve a crit-
ical, technical challenge determined by the host; 
(2) the term ‘‘host’’, with respect to a 
Hackathon, means the commander of the combatant 
command or the Secretary of the military depart-
ment carrying out the Hackathon; 
(3) the term ‘‘military department’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of title 
10, United States Code; and 
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(4) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the program es-
tablished under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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