II 

Calendar No. 277 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2123 

[Report No. 117–81] 

To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices 

for Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2021 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. 

PETERS, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

FEBRUARY 17, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices for Faith-Based Organizations and 

Houses of Worship, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pray Safe Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘Clearinghouse’’ means the Fed4 eral Clearinghouse on Safety Best Practices for 

5 Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship 

6 established under section 2220A of the Homeland 

7 Security Act of 2002, as added by section 3 of this 

8 Act; 

9 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart10 ment of Homeland Security; and 

11 (3) the terms ‘‘faith-based organization’’ and 

12 ‘‘house of worship’’ have the meanings given such 

13 terms under section 2220A of the Homeland Security 

14 Act of 2002, as added by section 3 of this Act; and 

15 (3)(4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security. 

17 SEC. 3. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND SECU18 RITY BEST PRACTICES FOR FAITH-BASED OR19 GANIZATIONS AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title XXII of the 

21 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), 

22 as amended by section 9, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2220A. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND 

2 SECURITY BEST PRACTICES FOR FAITH3 BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND HOUSES OF 

4 WORSHIP. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Clearinghouse’ means the Clear7 inghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices for 

8 Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship 

9 established under subsection (b) (1); 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘faith-based organization’ means 

11 a group, center, or nongovernmental organization at 

12 risk because of religious, ideological, or spiritual be13 liefs; and 

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘faith-based organization’ means a 

15 group, center, or nongovernmental organization with 

16 a religious, ideological, or spiritual motivation, char17 acter, affiliation, or purpose; 

18 ‘‘(3) the term ‘house of worship’ means a place 

19 or building, including synagogues, mosques, temples, 

20 and churches, in which congregants practice their re21 ligious or spiritual beliefs.; and 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘safety and security’, for the pur23 pose of the Clearinghouse, means prevention of, pro24 tection against, or recovery from threats, including 

25 manmade disasters, natural disasters, or violent at26 tacks. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

3 after the date of enactment of the Pray Safe Act, 

4 the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney 

5 General, the Executive Director of the White House 

6 Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partner7 ships, and the head of any other agency that the 

8 Secretary determines appropriate, shall establish a 

9 Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best 

10 Practices for Faith-Based Organizations and Houses 

11 of Worship within the Department. 

12 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The Clearinghouse shall be 

13 the primary resource of the Federal Government— 

14 ‘‘(A) to educate and publish online best 

15 practices and recommendations for safety and 

16 security for faith-based organizations and 

17 houses of worship; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to provide information relating to 

19 Federal grant programs available to faith-based 

20 organizations and houses of worship. 

21 ‘‘(3) PERSONNEL.— 

22 ‘‘(A) ASSIGNMENTS.—The Clearinghouse 

23 shall be assigned such personnel and resources 

24 as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry 

25 out this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DETAILEES.—The Secretary may co2 ordinate detailees as required for the Clearing3 house. 

4 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATED POINT OF CONTACT.— 

5 There shall be not less than 1 employee as6 signed or detailed to the Clearinghouse who 

7 shall be the designated point of contact to pro8 vide information and assistance to faith-based 

9 organizations and houses of worship, including 

10 assistance relating to the grant program estab11 lished under section 5 of the Pray Safe Act. 

12 The contact information of the designated point 

13 of contact shall be made available on the 

14 website of the Clearinghouse. 

15 ‘‘(D) QUALIFICATION.—To the maximum 

16 extent possible, any personnel assigned or de17 tailed to the Clearinghouse under this para18 graph should be familiar with faith-based orga19 nizations and houses of worship and with phys20 ical and online security measures to identify 

21 and prevent safety and security risks. 

22 ‘‘(c) CLEARINGHOUSE CONTENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED TIERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Attorney General, the ExecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Feb 18, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2123.RS S2123

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1 tive Director of the White House Office of 

2 Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, 

3 and the head of any other agency that the Sec4 retary determines appropriate, shall develop 

5 tiers for determining evidence-based practices 

6 that demonstrate a significant effect on improv7 ing safety or security, or both, for faith-based 

8 organizations and houses of worship. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The tiers required 

10 to be developed under subparagraph (A) shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) prioritize— 

12 ‘‘(I) strong evidence from not 

13 less than 1 well-designed and well-im14 plemented experimental study; and 

15 ‘‘(II) moderate evidence from not 

16 less than 1 well-designed and well-im17 plemented quasi-experimental study; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) consider promising evidence that 

20 demonstrates a rationale based on high21 quality research findings or positive eval22 uations that such activity, strategy, or 

23 intervention is likely to improve security 

24 and promote safety for faith-based organi25 zations and houses of worship. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR BEST PRACTICES AND REC2 OMMENDATIONS.—The best practices and rec3 ommendations of the Clearinghouse shall, at a min4 imum— 

5 ‘‘(A) identify areas of concern for faith6 based organizations and houses of worship, in7 cluding event planning recommendations, check8 lists, facility hardening, tabletop exercise re9 sources, and other resilience measures; 

10 ‘‘(B) involve comprehensive safety meas11 ures, including threat prevention, preparedness, 

12 protection, mitigation, incident response, and 

13 recovery to improve the safety posture of faith14 based organizations and houses of worship upon 

15 implementation; 

16 ‘‘(C) involve comprehensive safety meas17 ures, including preparedness, protection, mitiga18 tion, incident response, and recovery to improve 

19 the resiliency of faith-based organizations and 

20 houses of worship from manmade and natural 

21 disasters; 

22 ‘‘(D) include any evidence or research ra23 tionale supporting the determination of the 

24 Clearinghouse that the best practice s or rec25 ommendation s under subparagraph (B) has 


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1 have been shown to have a significant effect on 

2 improving the safety and security of individuals 

3 in faith-based organizations and houses of wor4 ship, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) findings and data from previous 

6 Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, 

7 private sector, and nongovernmental orga8 nization research centers relating to safety, 

9 security, and targeted violence at faith10 based organizations and houses of worship; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) other supportive evidence or find13 ings relied upon by the Clearinghouse in 

14 determining best practices and recommen15 dations to improve the safety and security 

16 posture of a faith-based organization or 

17 house of worship upon implementation; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(E) include an overview of the available 

20 resources the Clearinghouse can provide for 

21 faith-based organizations and houses of wor22 ship. 

23 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The Clear24 inghouse shall maintain and make available a com25 prehensive index of all Federal grant programs for 


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1 which faith-based organizations and houses of wor2 ship are eligible, which shall include the performance 

3 metrics for each grant management that the recipi4 ent will be required to provide. 

5 ‘‘(4) PAST RECOMMENDATIONS.—To the great6 est extent practicable, the Clearinghouse shall iden7 tify and present, as appropriate, best practices and 

8 recommendations issued by Federal, State, local, 

9 Tribal, territorial, private sector, and nongovern10 mental organizations relevant to the safety and secu11 rity of faith-based organizations and houses of wor12 ship. 

13 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—The Secretary 

14 may produce and publish materials on the Clearinghouse 

15 to assist and train faith-based organizations, houses of 

16 worship, and law enforcement agencies on the implementa17 tion of the best practices and recommendations. 

18 ‘‘(e) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) collect for the purpose of continuous 

21 improvement of the Clearinghouse— 

22 ‘‘(i) Clearinghouse data analytics; 

23 ‘‘(ii) user feedback on the implemen24 tation of resources, best practices, and recVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Feb 18, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2123.RS S2123

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1 ommendations identified by the Clearing2 house; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) any evaluations conducted on 

4 implementation of the best practices and 

5 recommendations of the Clearinghouse; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) in coordination with the Faith-Based 

8 Security Advisory Council of the Department, 

9 the Department of Justice, the Executive Direc10 tor of the White House Office of Faith-Based 

11 and Neighborhood Partnerships, and any other 

12 agency that the Secretary determines appro13 priate— 

14 ‘‘(i) assess and identify Clearinghouse 

15 best practices and recommendations for 

16 which there are no resources available 

17 through Federal Government programs for 

18 implementation; 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide feedback on the imple20 mentation of best practices and recommen21 dations of the Clearinghouse; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) propose additional recommenda23 tions for best practices for inclusion in the 

24 Clearinghouse; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not less frequently than annually, ex2 amine and update the Clearinghouse in accord3 ance with— 

4 ‘‘(i) the information collected under 

5 subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the recommendations proposed 

7 under subparagraph (B)(iii). 

8 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The 

9 Secretary shall submit to Congress, on an annual 

10 basis, a report on the updates made to the Clearing11 house during the preceding 1-year period under 

12 paragraph (1)(C), which shall include a description 

13 of any changes made to the Clearinghouse.’’. 

14 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT S.—The table of con15 tents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 

16 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135), as amended 

17 by section 9 of this Act, is amended by inserting after 

18 the item relating to section 2220 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2220A. Federal Clearinghouse on Safety Best Practices for Faith-Based 

Organizations and Houses of Worship.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE. 

20 The Secretary shall provide written notification of the 

21 establishment of the Clearinghouse, with an overview of 

22 the resources required as described in section 2220A of 

23 the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 

24 3 of this Act, and section 5 of this Act, to— 


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1 (1) every State homeland security advisor; 

2 (2) every State department of homeland secu3 rity; 

4 (3) other Federal agencies with grant programs 

5 or initiatives that aid in the safety and security of 

6 faith-based organizations and houses of worship, as 

7 determined appropriate by the Secretary; 

8 (4) every Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint 

9 Terrorism Task Force; 

10 (5) every Homeland Security Fusion Center; 

11 (6) every State or territorial Governor or other 

12 chief executive; 

13 (7) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

14 Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Ju15 diciary of the Senate; and 

16 (8) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

17 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

18 Representatives. 

19 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW. 

20 (a) DHS GRANTS AND RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

21 shall include a grants program overview on the website 

22 of the Clearinghouse that shall— 

23 (1) be the primary location for all information 

24 regarding Department grant programs that are open 

25 to faith-based organizations and houses of worship; 


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1 (2) directly link to each grant application and 

2 any applicable user guides; 

3 (3) identify all safety and security homeland se4 curity assistance programs managed by the Depart5 ment that may be used to implement best practices 

6 and recommendation of the Clearinghouse; 

7 (4) annually, and concurrent with the applica8 tion period for any grant identified under paragraph 

9 (1), provide information related to the required ele10 ments of grant applications to aid smaller faith 

11 based organizations and houses of worship in earn12 ing access to Federal grants; and 

13 (5) provide frequently asked questions and an14 swers for the implementation of best practices and 

15 recommendations of the Clearinghouse and best 

16 practices for applying for a grant identified under 

17 paragraph (1). 

18 (b) OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS AND RESOURCES.— 

19 Each Federal agency notified under section 4(3) shall pro20 vide necessary information on any Federal grant programs 

21 or resources of the Federal agency that are available for 

22 faith-based organizations and houses of worship to the 

23 Secretary or the appropriate point of contact for the 

24 Clearinghouse. 

25 (c) STATE GRANTS AND RESOURCES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any State notified under 

2 paragraph (1), (2), or (6) of section 4 may provide 

3 necessary information on any grant programs or re4 sources of the State available for faith-based organi5 zations and houses of worship to the Secretary or 

6 the appropriate point of contact for the Clearing7 house. 

8 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCES.—The 

9 Clearinghouse shall, to the extent practicable, iden10 tify, for each State— 

11 (A) each agency responsible for safety for 

12 faith-based organizations and houses of worship 

13 in the State, or any State that does not have 

14 such an agency designated; 

15 (B) any grant program that may be used 

16 for the purposes of implementing best practices 

17 and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and 

18 (C) any resources or programs, including 

19 community prevention or intervention efforts, 

20 that may be used to assist in targeted violence 

21 and terrorism prevention. 

22 SEC. 6. OTHER RESOURCES. 

23 The Secretary shall, on the website of the Clearing24 house, include a separate section for other resources that 

25 shall provide a centralized list of all available points of 


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1 contact to seek assistance in grant applications and in car2 rying out the best practices and recommendations of the 

3 Clearinghouse, including— 

4 (1) a list of contact information to reach De5 partment personnel to assist with grant-related ques6 tions; 

7 (2) the applicable Cybersecurity and Infrastruc8 ture Security Agency contact information to connect 

9 houses of worship with Protective Security Advisors; 

10 (3) contact information for all Department Fu11 sion Centers, listed by State; 

12 (4) information on the If you See Something 

13 Say Something Campaign of the Department; and 

14 (5) any other appropriate contacts. 

15 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

16 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

17 Act shall be construed to create, satisfy, or waive any re18 quirement under Federal civil rights laws, including— 

19 (1) title II of the Americans With Disabilities 

20 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.); or 

21 (2) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

22 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

23 SEC. 8. EXEMPTION. 

24 Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (com25 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) shall 


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1 not apply to any rulemaking or information collection re2 quired under this Act or under section 2220A of the 

3 Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 3 

4 of this Act. 

5 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

6 (a) REDESIGNATIONS.—Subtitle A of title XXII of 

7 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating section 2217 (6 U.S.C. 

10 665f) as section 2220; 

11 (2) by redesignating section 2216 (6 U.S.C. 

12 665e) as section 2219; 

13 (3) by redesignating the fourth section 2215 

14 (relating to Sector Risk Management Agencies) (6 

15 U.S.C. 665d) as section 2218; 

16 (4) by redesignating the third section 2215 (re17 lating to the Cybersecurity State Coordinator) (6 

18 U.S.C. 665c) as section 2217; and 

19 (5) by redesignating the second section 2215 

20 (relating to the Joint Cyber Planning Office) (6 

21 U.S.C. 665b) as section 2216. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 Section 2202(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

24 (6 U.S.C. 652(c)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (1)(2) in the first paragraph (12), — 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2215’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘section 2217’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

7 (2)(3) by redesignating the second and third 

8 paragraphs (12) as paragraphs (13) and (14), re9 spectively. 

10 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

11 section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public 

12 Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by striking 

13 the item relating to section 2214 and all that follows 

14 through the item relating to section 2217 and inserting 

15 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2214. National Asset Database. 

‘‘Sec. 2215. Duties and authorities relating to .gov internet domain. 

‘‘Sec. 2216. Joint Cyber Planning Office. 

‘‘Sec. 2217. Cybersecurity State Coordinator. 

‘‘Sec. 2218. Sector Risk Management Agencies. 

‘‘Sec. 2219. Cybersecurity Advisory Committee. 

‘‘Sec. 2220. Cybersecurity education and training programs.’’. 

16 (d) ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.— 

17 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 904(b)(1) of the 

18 DOTGOV Act of 2020 (title IX of division U of 

19 Public Law 116–260) is amended, in the matter pre20 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Homeland 

21 Security Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Homeland Security Act 

22 of 2002’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if enacted as 

3 part of the DOTGOV Act of 2020 (title IX of divi4 sion U of Public Law 116–260). 


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Calendar No. 277 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2123 

[Report No. 117–81] 

A BILL 

To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety 

other purposes. ganizations and Houses of Worship, and for and Security Best Practices for Faith-Based OrFEBRUARY 17, 2022 

Reported with amendments 


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