117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2123 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘Clearinghouse’’ means the Fed6 eral Clearinghouse on Safety Best Practices for 

7 Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship 

8 established under section 2220A of the Homeland 

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

10 Act; 

11 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security; 

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

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

15 terms under section 2220A of the Homeland Secu16 rity Act of 2002, as added by section 3 of this Act; 

17 and 

18 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security. 

20 SEC. 3. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND SECU21 RITY BEST PRACTICES FOR FAITH-BASED OR22 GANIZATIONS AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP. 

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

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

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

26 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 

12 with a religious, ideological, or spiritual motivation, 

13 character, affiliation, or purpose; 

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

15 or building, including synagogues, mosques, temples, 

16 and churches, in which congregants practice their re17 ligious or spiritual beliefs; and 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘safety and security’, for the pur19 pose of the Clearinghouse, means prevention of, pro20 tection against, or recovery from threats, including 

21 manmade disasters, natural disasters, or violent at22 tacks. 

23 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

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

26 the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney 
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1 General, the Executive Director of the White House 

2 Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partner3 ships, and the head of any other agency that the 

4 Secretary determines appropriate, shall establish a 

5 Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best 

6 Practices for Faith-Based Organizations and Houses 

7 of Worship within the Department. 

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

9 the primary resource of the Federal Government— 

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

11 practices and recommendations for safety and 

12 security for faith-based organizations and 

13 houses of worship; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to provide information relating to 

15 Federal grant programs available to faith-based 

16 organizations and houses of worship. 

17 ‘‘(3) PERSONNEL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ASSIGNMENTS.—The Clearinghouse 

19 shall be assigned such personnel and resources 

20 as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry 

21 out this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) DETAILEES.—The Secretary may co23 ordinate detailees as required for the Clearing24 house. 
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1 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATED POINT OF CONTACT.— 

2 There shall be not less than 1 employee as3 signed or detailed to the Clearinghouse who 

4 shall be the designated point of contact to pro5 vide information and assistance to faith-based 

6 organizations and houses of worship, including 

7 assistance relating to the grant program estab8 lished under section 5 of the Pray Safe Act. 

9 The contact information of the designated point 

10 of contact shall be made available on the 

11 website of the Clearinghouse. 

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

13 extent possible, any personnel assigned or de14 tailed to the Clearinghouse under this para15 graph should be familiar with faith-based orga16 nizations and houses of worship and with phys17 ical and online security measures to identify 

18 and prevent safety and security risks. 

19 ‘‘(c) CLEARINGHOUSE CONTENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED TIERS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con22 sultation with the Attorney General, the Execu23 tive Director of the White House Office of 

24 Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, 

25 and the head of any other agency that the Sec-
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1 retary determines appropriate, shall develop 

2 tiers for determining evidence-based practices 

3 that demonstrate a significant effect on improv4 ing safety or security, or both, for faith-based 

5 organizations and houses of worship. 

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

7 to be developed under subparagraph (A) shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) prioritize— 

9 ‘‘(I) strong evidence from not 

10 less than 1 well-designed and well-im11 plemented experimental study; and 

12 ‘‘(II) moderate evidence from not 

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

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) consider promising evidence that 

17 demonstrates a rationale based on high18 quality research findings or positive eval19 uations that such activity, strategy, or 

20 intervention is likely to improve security 

21 and promote safety for faith-based organi22 zations and houses of worship. 

23 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR BEST PRACTICES AND REC24 OMMENDATIONS.—The best practices and rec-
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1 ommendations of the Clearinghouse shall, at a min2 imum— 

3 ‘‘(A) identify areas of concern for faith4 based organizations and houses of worship, in5 cluding event planning recommendations, check6 lists, facility hardening, tabletop exercise re7 sources, and other resilience measures; 

8 ‘‘(B) involve comprehensive safety meas9 ures, including threat prevention, preparedness, 

10 protection, mitigation, incident response, and 

11 recovery to improve the safety posture of faith12 based organizations and houses of worship upon 

13 implementation; 

14 ‘‘(C) involve comprehensive safety meas15 ures, including preparedness, protection, mitiga16 tion, incident response, and recovery to improve 

17 the resiliency of faith-based organizations and 

18 houses of worship from manmade and natural 

19 disasters; 

20 ‘‘(D) include any evidence or research ra21 tionale supporting the determination of the 

22 Clearinghouse that the best practices or rec23 ommendations under subparagraph (B) have 

24 been shown to have a significant effect on im25 proving the safety and security of individuals in 
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1 faith-based organizations and houses of wor2 ship, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) findings and data from previous 

4 Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, 

5 private sector, and nongovernmental orga6 nization research centers relating to safety, 

7 security, and targeted violence at faith8 based organizations and houses of worship; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) other supportive evidence or find11 ings relied upon by the Clearinghouse in 

12 determining best practices and recommen13 dations to improve the safety and security 

14 posture of a faith-based organization or 

15 house of worship upon implementation; 

16 and 

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

18 resources the Clearinghouse can provide for 

19 faith-based organizations and houses of wor20 ship. 

21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The Clear22 inghouse shall maintain and make available a com23 prehensive index of all Federal grant programs for 

24 which faith-based organizations and houses of wor25 ship are eligible, which shall include the performance 
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1 metrics for each grant management that the recipi2 ent will be required to provide. 

3 ‘‘(4) PAST RECOMMENDATIONS.—To the great4 est extent practicable, the Clearinghouse shall iden5 tify and present, as appropriate, best practices and 

6 recommendations issued by Federal, State, local, 

7 Tribal, territorial, private sector, and nongovern8 mental organizations relevant to the safety and secu9 rity of faith-based organizations and houses of wor10 ship. 

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

12 may produce and publish materials on the Clearinghouse 

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

14 worship, and law enforcement agencies on the implementa15 tion of the best practices and recommendations. 

16 ‘‘(e) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.— 

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

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

19 improvement of the Clearinghouse— 

20 ‘‘(i) Clearinghouse data analytics; 

21 ‘‘(ii) user feedback on the implemen22 tation of resources, best practices, and rec23 ommendations identified by the Clearing24 house; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) any evaluations conducted on 

2 implementation of the best practices and 

3 recommendations of the Clearinghouse; 

4 and 

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

6 Security Advisory Council of the Department, 

7 the Department of Justice, the Executive Direc8 tor of the White House Office of Faith-Based 

9 and Neighborhood Partnerships, and any other 

10 agency that the Secretary determines appro11 priate— 

12 ‘‘(i) assess and identify Clearinghouse 

13 best practices and recommendations for 

14 which there are no resources available 

15 through Federal Government programs for 

16 implementation; 

17 ‘‘(ii) provide feedback on the imple18 mentation of best practices and recommen19 dations of the Clearinghouse; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) propose additional recommenda21 tions for best practices for inclusion in the 

22 Clearinghouse; and 

23 ‘‘(C) not less frequently than annually, ex24 amine and update the Clearinghouse in accord25 ance with— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the information collected under 

2 subparagraph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the recommendations proposed 

4 under subparagraph (B)(iii). 

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

6 Secretary shall submit to Congress, on an annual 

7 basis, a report on the updates made to the Clearing8 house during the preceding 1-year period under 

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

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

11 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

13 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135), as amended by 

14 section 9 of this Act, is amended by inserting after the 

15 item relating to section 2220 the following: 

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

Organizations and Houses of Worship.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE. 

17 The Secretary shall provide written notification of the 

18 establishment of the Clearinghouse, with an overview of 

19 the resources required as described in section 2220A of 

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

21 3 of this Act, and section 5 of this Act, to— 

22 (1) every State homeland security advisor; 

23 (2) every State department of homeland secu24 rity; 
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1 (3) other Federal agencies with grant programs 

2 or initiatives that aid in the safety and security of 

3 faith-based organizations and houses of worship, as 

4 determined appropriate by the Secretary; 

5 (4) every Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint 

6 Terrorism Task Force; 

7 (5) every Homeland Security Fusion Center; 

8 (6) every State or territorial Governor or other 

9 chief executive; 

10 (7) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

11 Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Ju12 diciary of the Senate; and 

13 (8) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

14 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

15 Representatives. 

16 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW. 

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

18 shall include a grants program overview on the website 

19 of the Clearinghouse that shall— 

20 (1) be the primary location for all information 

21 regarding Department grant programs that are open 

22 to faith-based organizations and houses of worship; 

23 (2) directly link to each grant application and 

24 any applicable user guides; 
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1 (3) identify all safety and security homeland se2 curity assistance programs managed by the Depart3 ment that may be used to implement best practices 

4 and recommendation of the Clearinghouse; 

5 (4) annually, and concurrent with the applica6 tion period for any grant identified under paragraph 

7 (1), provide information related to the required ele8 ments of grant applications to aid smaller faith 

9 based organizations and houses of worship in earn10 ing access to Federal grants; and 

11 (5) provide frequently asked questions and an12 swers for the implementation of best practices and 

13 recommendations of the Clearinghouse and best 

14 practices for applying for a grant identified under 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 (b) OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS AND RESOURCES.— 

17 Each Federal agency notified under section 4(3) shall pro18 vide necessary information on any Federal grant programs 

19 or resources of the Federal agency that are available for 

20 faith-based organizations and houses of worship to the 

21 Secretary or the appropriate point of contact for the 

22 Clearinghouse. 

23 (c) STATE GRANTS AND RESOURCES.— 

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

25 paragraph (1), (2), or (6) of section 4 may provide 
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1 necessary information on any grant programs or re2 sources of the State available for faith-based organi3 zations and houses of worship to the Secretary or 

4 the appropriate point of contact for the Clearing5 house. 

6 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCES.—The 

7 Clearinghouse shall, to the extent practicable, iden8 tify, for each State— 

9 (A) each agency responsible for safety for 

10 faith-based organizations and houses of worship 

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

12 such an agency designated; 

13 (B) any grant program that may be used 

14 for the purposes of implementing best practices 

15 and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and 

16 (C) any resources or programs, including 

17 community prevention or intervention efforts, 

18 that may be used to assist in targeted violence 

19 and terrorism prevention. 

20 SEC. 6. OTHER RESOURCES. 

21 The Secretary shall, on the website of the Clearing22 house, include a separate section for other resources that 

23 shall provide a centralized list of all available points of 

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

2 Clearinghouse, including— 

3 (1) a list of contact information to reach De4 partment personnel to assist with grant-related ques5 tions; 

6 (2) the applicable Cybersecurity and Infrastruc7 ture Security Agency contact information to connect 

8 houses of worship with Protective Security Advisors; 

9 (3) contact information for all Department Fu10 sion Centers, listed by State; 

11 (4) information on the If you See Something 

12 Say Something Campaign of the Department; and 

13 (5) any other appropriate contacts. 

14 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

16 Act shall be construed to create, satisfy, or waive any re17 quirement under Federal civil rights laws, including— 

18 (1) title II of the Americans With Disabilities 

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

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

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

22 SEC. 8. EXEMPTION. 

23 Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (com24 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) shall 

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

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

3 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

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

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

7 is amended— 

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

9 665f) as section 2220; 

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

11 665e) as section 2219; 

12 (3) by redesignating the fourth section 2215 

13 (relating to Sector Risk Management Agencies) (6 

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

15 (4) by redesignating the third section 2215 (re16 lating to the Cybersecurity State Coordinator) (6 

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

18 (5) by redesignating the second section 2215 

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

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

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

23 (6 U.S.C. 652(c)) is amended— 

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

25 end; 
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1 (2) in the first paragraph (12)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2215’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘section 2217’’; and 

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

5 (3) by redesignating the second and third para6 graphs (12) as paragraphs (13) and (14), respec7 tively. 

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

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

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

11 the item relating to section 2214 and all that follows 

12 through the item relating to section 2217 and inserting 

13 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.’’. 

14 (d) ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.— 

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

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

17 Public Law 116–260) is amended, in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Homeland 

19 Security Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Homeland Security Act 

20 of 2002’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

22 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if enacted as 
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1 part of the DOTGOV Act of 2020 (title IX of divi2 sion U of Public Law 116–260). 

Passed the Senate April 5, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2123 

AN ACT 

To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety 

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