Title: Faith-Based Community Center Protection Act
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Faith-Based Community Center Protection Act
This bill permits the use of Urban Area Security Initiative or State Homeland Security Grant Program grant funds to protect a faith-based community center or vulnerable populations, including children or the elderly. A faith-based community center is a facility operated by a nonprofit faith-based community organization for the provision of recreational, social, or education services, or a house of worship.
The bill increases the term of imprisonment from 5 to 10 years for providing false or misleading information or engaging in hoaxes.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1308 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1308

To allow Homeland Security Grant Program funds to be used to safeguard 
 faith-based community centers and houses of worship across the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 2, 2019

  Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Ms. McSally) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To allow Homeland Security Grant Program funds to be used to safeguard 
 faith-based community centers and houses of worship across the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Faith-Based Community Center 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM.

    Title XX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 2001 (6 U.S.C. 601)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through (14) 
                as paragraphs (12) through (16), respectively;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as 
                paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively;
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Faith-based community center.--The term `faith-based 
        community center' means--
                    ``(A) a facility operated by a nonprofit faith-
                based community organization for the provision of 
                recreational, social, or education services; or
                    ``(B) a house of worship.''; and
                    (D) by inserting after paragraph (10), as so 
                redesignated, the following:
            ``(11) Nonprofit.--The term `nonprofit' means an 
        organization described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) 
        of such Code.''; and
            (2) in section 2008 (6 U.S.C. 609)--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in paragraph (13), by striking ``and'' 
                        at the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraph (14) as 
                        paragraph (15); and
                            (iii) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 
                        following:
            ``(14) protecting a faith-based community center or 
        vulnerable populations, including children or the elderly; 
        and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Protection of Faith-Based Community Centers and Vulnerable 
Populations.--
            ``(1) Allocation of grant funds.--Of the total amount 
        authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (3) for grants 
        awarded for the purpose described in subsection (a)(14), the 
        Administrator shall award--
                    ``(A) 50 percent for the protection of faith-based 
                community centers and vulnerable populations in 
                communities with a population of not more than 
                1,000,000 individuals, as determined by the latest 
                available decennial census; and
                    ``(B) 50 percent for the protection of faith-based 
                community centers in communities and vulnerable 
                populations with a population of more than 1,000,000 
                individuals, as determined by the latest available 
                decennial census.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 
        to the Administrator to make grants for the purpose described 
        in subsection (a)(14).''.

SEC. 3. FALSE INFORMATION AND HOAXES.

    Section 1038(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ``5 years'' and inserting ``10 years''.
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