I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7296 
To establish a Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Best Practices for Non-
profit Organizations, Faith-based Organizations, and Houses of Worship 
within the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2024 
Ms. PORTER (for herself, Ms. SALAZAR, and Mr. CARTER of Louisiana) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Home-
land Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Best 
Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, Faith-based Orga-
nizations, and Houses of Worship within the Department 
of Homeland Security, 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 ‘‘Pray Safe Act of 
2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND SECU-
RITY BEST PRACTICES FOR NONPROFIT OR-
GANIZATIONS, 
FAITH-BASED 
ORGANIZA-
TIONS, AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP (PRAY 
SAFE). 
(a) FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the At-
torney General, the Executive Director of the 
White House Office of Faith-Based and Neigh-
borhood Partnerships, and the head of any 
other agency the Secretary determines appro-
priate, shall establish within the Department a 
Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security 
Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, 
Faith-based Organizations, and Houses of Wor-
ship. 
(B) PURPOSE.—The Clearinghouse shall 
be the primary resource of the Federal Govern-
ment to— 
(i) educate and publish online best 
practices and recommendations for safety 
and security for nonprofit organizations, 
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including faith-based organizations, and 
houses of worship; and 
(ii) provide information relating to 
Federal grant programs available to non-
profit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship. 
(C) PERSONNEL.— 
(i) 
ASSIGNMENTS.—The 
Clearing-
house shall be assigned such personnel and 
resources as the Secretary considers appro-
priate to carry out this subsection. 
(ii) DETAILEES.—The Secretary may 
coordinate detailees on a reimbursable or a 
nonreimbursable basis as required for the 
Clearinghouse. 
(iii) DESIGNATED
POINT
OF
CON-
TACT.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—There shall be 
not fewer than one employee assigned 
or detailed to the Clearinghouse who 
shall be the designated point of con-
tact to provide information and assist-
ance to nonprofit organizations, in-
cluding faith-based organizations, and 
houses of worship, including assist-
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agency the Secretary determines appro-
priate, shall develop tiers for determining 
evidence-based best practices and rec-
ommendations that demonstrate a signifi-
cant effect on improving safety and secu-
rity of nonprofit organizations, including 
faith-based organizations, and houses of 
worship. 
(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The tiers re-
quired to be developed under clause (i) 
shall— 
(I) prioritize— 
(aa) strong evidence from 
not fewer than one well-designed 
and 
well-implemented 
experi-
mental study; and 
(bb) moderate evidence from 
not fewer than one well-designed 
and well-implemented quasi-ex-
perimental study; and 
(II) consider promising evidence 
that demonstrates a rationale based 
on high-quality research findings or 
positive evaluations that an activity, 
strategy, or intervention implemented 
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by the Department or a state or local 
agency is likely to improve and pro-
mote safety and security of nonprofit 
organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship. 
(B) CRITERIA FOR BEST PRACTICES AND 
RECOMMENDATIONS.—The best practices and 
recommendations referred to in paragraph 
(1)(B)(i) of the Clearinghouse shall, at a min-
imum— 
(i) identify areas of concern for non-
profit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship, in-
cluding event planning recommendations, 
checklists, facility hardening, tabletop exer-
cise resources, and other resilience meas-
ures; 
(ii) involve comprehensive safety and 
security measures, including threat preven-
tion, preparedness, protection, mitigation, 
incident response, and recovery to improve 
the safety and security posture of non-
profit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship upon 
implementation; 
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(iii) involve comprehensive safety and 
security measures, including preparedness, 
protection, mitigation, incident response, 
and recovery to improve the resiliency of 
nonprofit organizations, including faith- 
based organizations, and houses of worship 
from threats and incidents, including nat-
ural disasters, manmade disasters, or ter-
rorist attacks or other threats; 
(iv) include any evidence or research 
rationale supporting the determination of 
the Clearinghouse that the comprehensive 
safety and security measures under clauses 
(ii) and (iii) have been shown to have a 
significant effect on improving the safety 
and security of individuals who, at the time 
of any such threat or incident, are phys-
ically located in the place or building of a 
nonprofit organization, including a faith- 
based organization, or house of worship, 
including— 
(I) findings and data from pre-
vious Federal, State, local, Tribal, ter-
ritorial, private sector, and nongovern-
mental organization research centers 
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relating to the safety and security of 
nonprofit 
organizations, 
including 
faith-based organizations, and houses 
of worship, including from targeted vi-
olence; and 
(II) other supportive evidence or 
findings relied upon by the Clearing-
house in determining best practices 
and recommendations to improve the 
safety and security posture of non-
profit organizations, including faith- 
based organizations, and houses of 
worship upon implementation; and 
(v) include an overview of the avail-
able resources the Clearinghouse can pro-
vide to nonprofit organizations, including 
faith-based organizations, and houses of 
worship. 
(C) 
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION.—The 
Clearinghouse shall maintain and make avail-
able a comprehensive index of all Federal grant 
programs for which nonprofit organizations, in-
cluding faith-based organizations, and houses of 
worship are eligible, which shall include the per-
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formance metrics for each grant the recipient 
will be required to provide. 
(D) PAST
RECOMMENDATIONS.—To the 
greatest extent practicable, the Clearinghouse 
shall identify and present, as appropriate, best 
practices and recommendations issued by Fed-
eral, State, local, Tribal, territorial, private sec-
tor, and nongovernmental organizations rel-
evant to the safety and security of nonprofit or-
ganizations, including faith-based organizations, 
and houses of worship. 
(E) EXISTING PLATFORM.—The Secretary 
may establish and maintain the Clearinghouse 
on an online platform or a website that is in ex-
istence as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(3) ASSISTANCE
AND
TRAINING.—The Sec-
retary may produce and publish materials on the 
Clearinghouse to assist and train nonprofit organiza-
tions, including faith-based organizations, and 
houses of worship regarding the implementation of 
the best practices and recommendations under this 
subsection. 
(4) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 
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(i) collect for the purpose of contin-
uous improvement of the Clearinghouse— 
(I) Clearinghouse data analytics; 
(II) user feedback on the imple-
mentation of resources, best practices, 
and recommendations identified by 
the Clearinghouse; and 
(III) any evaluations conducted 
regarding implementation of such best 
practices and recommendations; 
(ii) in coordination with the Faith- 
Based Security Advisory Council of the 
Department, the Department of Justice, 
the Executive Director of the White House 
Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood 
Partnerships, and any other agency the 
Secretary determines appropriate— 
(I) assess and identify Clearing-
house best practices and recommenda-
tions for which there are no resources 
available through Federal Government 
programs for implementation; 
(II) provide feedback on the im-
plementation of such best practices 
and recommendations; and 
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(III) 
propose 
additional 
rec-
ommendations for best practices for 
inclusion in the Clearinghouse; and 
(iii) not less frequently than annually, 
examine and update the Clearinghouse in 
accordance with— 
(I) the data analytics, feedback, 
and evaluations collected under clause 
(i); and 
(II) the recommendations pro-
posed under clause (ii)(III). 
(B) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The 
Secretary shall submit to Congress, on an an-
nual basis, a report on the updates under sub-
paragraph (A)(iii) made to the Clearinghouse 
during the preceding 1-year period, which shall 
include a description of any changes made pur-
suant thereto to the Clearinghouse. 
(b) NOTIFICATION OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
to the individuals, Federal agencies, and committees 
specified in paragraph (2) written notification of the 
establishment of the Clearinghouse, including up-
dates pertaining to grant programs identified under 
subsection (a)(2)(C). 
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(2) INDIVIDUALS, FEDERAL
AGENCIES, AND 
COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The individuals and enti-
ties specified in this paragraph are the following: 
(A) Every State homeland security advisor. 
(B) Every State department of homeland 
security. 
(C) Other Federal agencies with grant pro-
grams or initiatives that aid in the safety and 
security of nonprofit organizations, including 
faith-based organizations, and houses of wor-
ship, as determined appropriate by the Sec-
retary. 
(D) Every Cyber Security Advisor. 
(E) Every Protective Security Advisor. 
(F) Every Federal Bureau of Investigation 
Joint Terrorism Task Force. 
(G) Every Homeland Security Fusion Cen-
ter. 
(H) Every State or territorial Governor or 
other Chief Executive. 
(I) The Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate. 
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(J) The Committee on Homeland Security 
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives. 
(c) FEDERAL
GRANTS
AND
RESOURCES
OVER-
VIEW.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, 
the 
Secretary, 
when 
carrying 
out 
subsection 
(a)(2)(C), shall include a grants program overview 
on the website of the Clearinghouse that shall— 
(A) be the location for all information re-
garding Federal grant programs that are open 
to nonprofit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship for the 
purposes of safety and security; 
(B) directly link to each grant application 
and any applicable user guides; 
(C) identify all safety and security home-
land security assistance programs managed by 
the Department that may be used to implement 
best practices and recommendations of the 
Clearinghouse; 
(D) concurrent with the application period 
for any grant identified under subsection 
(a)(2)(C), provide information related to the re-
quired elements of grant applications to aid 
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nonprofit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship in meeting 
the eligibility criteria for Federal grants; and 
(E) provide answers to frequently asked 
questions regarding the implementation of best 
practices and recommendations of the Clearing-
house and best practices for applying for a 
grant identified under subsection (a)(2)(C). 
(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO 
FEDERAL GRANTS AND RESOURCES.—Each Federal 
agency notified under subsection (b) shall provide to 
the Secretary or other appropriate point of contact 
for the Clearinghouse for inclusion in the Clearing-
house necessary information regarding any Federal 
grant programs or resources of the Federal agency 
that are available for nonprofit organizations, includ-
ing faith-based organizations, and houses of worship 
for the purposes of safety and security. 
(3) STATE GRANTS AND RESOURCES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any State notified 
under subsection (b) may provide to the Sec-
retary or other appropriate point of contact for 
the Clearinghouse for inclusion in the Clearing-
house necessary information regarding any 
grant programs or resources of the State avail-
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able for nonprofit organizations, including faith- 
based organizations, and houses of worship for 
the purposes of safety and security. 
(B) IDENTIFICATION
OF
RESOURCES.— 
The Clearinghouse shall, to the extent prac-
ticable, identify for each State the following: 
(i) Each State agency responsible for 
safety and security of nonprofit organiza-
tions, including faith-based organizations, 
and houses of worship in the State, or any 
State that does not have such an agency 
designated. 
(ii) Any grant program that may be 
used for the purposes of implementing best 
practices and recommendations of the 
Clearinghouse. 
(iii) Any resources or programs, in-
cluding community prevention or interven-
tion efforts, that may be used to assist in 
targeted violence and terrorism prevention. 
(d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall, on the 
website of the Clearinghouse, include a separate section 
for other resources that shall provide a centralized list of 
all available points of contact from which a nonprofit orga-
nization, including a faith-based organization, or a house 
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of worship may seek assistance in grant applications and 
in carrying out the best practices and recommendations 
of the Clearinghouse, including the following: 
(1) A list of contact information to reach De-
partment personnel to assist with grant-related ques-
tions. 
(2) The applicable agency contact information 
to connect nonprofit organizations, including faith- 
based organizations, and houses of worship with 
Protective Security Advisors. 
(3) Contact information for all Department Fu-
sion Centers, listed by State. 
(4) Information on the ‘‘If you See Something 
Say Something Campaign’’ of the Department. 
(5) Any other appropriate contacts. 
(e) GAO REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 
state of Federal grants devoted to safety and security for 
nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organiza-
tions, and houses of worship, and an evaluation of the rel-
evant programs and resources devoted to the safety and 
security of nonprofit organizations, including faith-based 
organizations, and houses of worship as of the date of the 
report. 
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