[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5247-S5249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5766. Mr. PORTMAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for
[[Page S5248]]
fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end, add the following:
DIVISION E--PRAY SAFE ACT
SEC. 5001. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pray Safe Act''.
SEC. 5002. DEFINITIONS.
In this division--
(1) the term ``Clearinghouse'' means the Federal
Clearinghouse on Safety Best Practices for Faith-Based
Organizations and Houses of Worship established under section
2220A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by
section 5003 of this division;
(2) the term ``Department'' means the Department of
Homeland Security;
(3) the terms ``faith-based organization'' and ``house of
worship'' have the meanings given such terms under section
2220E of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by
section 5003 of this division; and
(4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
SEC. 5003. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST
PRACTICES FOR FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND
HOUSES OF WORSHIP.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title XXII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 2220E. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SAFETY AND SECURITY
BEST PRACTICES FOR FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `Clearinghouse' means the Clearinghouse on
Safety and Security Best Practices for Faith-Based
Organizations and Houses of Worship established under
subsection (b)(1);
``(2) the term `faith-based organization' means a group,
center, or nongovernmental organization with a religious,
ideological, or spiritual motivation, character, affiliation,
or purpose;
``(3) the term `house of worship' means a place or
building, including synagogues, mosques, temples, and
churches, in which congregants practice their religious or
spiritual beliefs; and
``(4) the term `safety and security', for the purpose of
the Clearinghouse, means prevention of, protection against,
or recovery from threats, including manmade disasters,
natural disasters, or violent attacks.
``(b) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date
of enactment of the Pray Safe Act, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Executive
Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and
Neighborhood Partnerships, and the head of any other agency
that the Secretary determines appropriate, shall establish a
Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices
for Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship within
the Department.
``(2) Purpose.--The Clearinghouse shall be the primary
resource of the Federal Government--
``(A) to educate and publish online best practices and
recommendations for safety and security for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship; and
``(B) to provide information relating to Federal grant
programs available to faith-based organizations and houses of
worship.
``(3) Personnel.--
``(A) Assignments.--The Clearinghouse shall be assigned
such personnel and resources as the Secretary considers
appropriate to carry out this section.
``(B) Detailees.--The Secretary may coordinate detailees as
required for the Clearinghouse.
``(C) Designated point of contact.--There shall be not less
than 1 employee assigned or detailed to the Clearinghouse who
shall be the designated point of contact to provide
information and assistance to faith-based organizations and
houses of worship, including assistance relating to the grant
program established under section 5005 of the Pray Safe Act.
The contact information of the designated point of contact
shall be made available on the website of the Clearinghouse.
``(D) Qualification.--To the maximum extent possible, any
personnel assigned or detailed to the Clearinghouse under
this paragraph should be familiar with faith-based
organizations and houses of worship and with physical and
online security measures to identify and prevent safety and
security risks.
``(c) Clearinghouse Contents.--
``(1) Evidence-based tiers.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General, the Executive Director of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the
head of any other agency that the Secretary determines
appropriate, shall develop tiers for determining evidence-
based practices that demonstrate a significant effect on
improving safety or security, or both, for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship.
``(B) Requirements.--The tiers required to be developed
under subparagraph (A) shall--
``(i) prioritize--
``(I) strong evidence from not less than 1 well-designed
and well-implemented experimental study; and
``(II) moderate evidence from not less than 1 well-designed
and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; and
``(ii) consider promising evidence that demonstrates a
rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive
evaluations that such activity, strategy, or intervention is
likely to improve security and promote safety for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship.
``(2) Criteria for best practices and recommendations.--The
best practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse
shall, at a minimum--
``(A) identify areas of concern for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship, including event planning
recommendations, checklists, facility hardening, tabletop
exercise resources, and other resilience measures;
``(B) involve comprehensive safety measures, including
threat prevention, preparedness, protection, mitigation,
incident response, and recovery to improve the safety posture
of faith-based organizations and houses of worship upon
implementation;
``(C) involve comprehensive safety measures, including
preparedness, protection, mitigation, incident response, and
recovery to improve the resiliency of faith-based
organizations and houses of worship from manmade and natural
disasters;
``(D) include any evidence or research rationale supporting
the determination of the Clearinghouse that the best
practices or recommendations under subparagraph (B) have been
shown to have a significant effect on improving the safety
and security of individuals in faith-based organizations and
houses of worship, including--
``(i) findings and data from previous Federal, State,
local, Tribal, territorial, private sector, and
nongovernmental organization research centers relating to
safety, security, and targeted violence at faith-based
organizations and houses of worship; and
``(ii) other supportive evidence or findings relied upon by
the Clearinghouse in determining best practices and
recommendations to improve the safety and security posture of
a faith-based organization or house of worship upon
implementation; and
``(E) include an overview of the available resources the
Clearinghouse can provide for faith-based organizations and
houses of worship.
``(3) Additional information.--The Clearinghouse shall
maintain and make available a comprehensive index of all
Federal grant programs for which faith-based organizations
and houses of worship are eligible, which shall include the
performance metrics for each grant management that the
recipient will be required to provide.
``(4) Past recommendations.--To the greatest extent
practicable, the Clearinghouse shall identify and present, as
appropriate, best practices and recommendations issued by
Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, private sector,
and nongovernmental organizations relevant to the safety and
security of faith-based organizations and houses of worship.
``(d) Assistance and Training.--The Secretary may produce
and publish materials on the Clearinghouse to assist and
train faith-based organizations, houses of worship, and law
enforcement agencies on the implementation of the best
practices and recommendations.
``(e) Continuous Improvement.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) collect for the purpose of continuous improvement of
the Clearinghouse--
``(i) Clearinghouse data analytics;
``(ii) user feedback on the implementation of resources,
best practices, and recommendations identified by the
Clearinghouse; and
``(iii) any evaluations conducted on implementation of the
best practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and
``(B) 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 that the Secretary determines appropriate--
``(i) assess and identify Clearinghouse best practices and
recommendations for which there are no resources available
through Federal Government programs for implementation;
``(ii) provide feedback on the implementation of best
practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and
``(iii) propose additional recommendations for best
practices for inclusion in the Clearinghouse; and
``(C) not less frequently than annually, examine and update
the Clearinghouse in accordance with--
``(i) the information collected under subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) the recommendations proposed under subparagraph
(B)(iii).
``(2) Annual report to congress.--The Secretary shall
submit to Congress, on an annual basis, a report on the
updates made to the Clearinghouse during the preceding 1-year
period under paragraph (1)(C), which shall include a
description of any changes made to the Clearinghouse.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-
296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended--
(1) by moving the item relating to section 2220D to appear
after the item relating to section 2220C; and
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(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 2220D
the following:
``Sec. 2220E. Federal Clearinghouse on Safety Best Practices for Faith-
Based Organizations and Houses of Worship.''.
SEC. 5004. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE.
The Secretary shall provide written notification of the
establishment of the Clearinghouse, with an overview of the
resources required as described in section 2220E of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 5003 of
this division, and section 5005 of this division, to--
(1) every State homeland security advisor;
(2) every State department of homeland security;
(3) other Federal agencies with grant programs or
initiatives that aid in the safety and security of faith-
based organizations and houses of worship, as determined
appropriate by the Secretary;
(4) every Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism
Task Force;
(5) every Homeland Security Fusion Center;
(6) every State or territorial Governor or other chief
executive;
(7) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
(8) the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 5005. GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW.
(a) DHS Grants and Resources.--The Secretary shall include
a grants program overview on the website of the Clearinghouse
that shall--
(1) be the primary location for all information regarding
Department grant programs that are open to faith-based
organizations and houses of worship;
(2) directly link to each grant application and any
applicable user guides;
(3) identify all safety and security homeland security
assistance programs managed by the Department that may be
used to implement best practices and recommendation of the
Clearinghouse;
(4) annually, and concurrent with the application period
for any grant identified under paragraph (1), provide
information related to the required elements of grant
applications to aid smaller faith based organizations and
houses of worship in earning access to Federal grants; and
(5) provide frequently asked questions and answers for the
implementation of best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse and best practices for applying for a grant
identified under paragraph (1).
(b) Other Federal Grants and Resources.--Each Federal
agency notified under section 5004(3) shall provide necessary
information on any Federal grant programs or resources of the
Federal agency that are available for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship to the Secretary or the
appropriate point of contact for the Clearinghouse.
(c) State Grants and Resources.--
(1) In general.--Any State notified under paragraph (1),
(2), or (6) of section 5004 may provide necessary information
on any grant programs or resources of the State available for
faith-based organizations and houses of worship to the
Secretary or the appropriate point of contact for the
Clearinghouse.
(2) Identification of resources.--The Clearinghouse shall,
to the extent practicable, identify, for each State--
(A) each agency responsible for safety for faith-based
organizations and houses of worship in the State, or any
State that does not have such an agency designated;
(B) any grant program that may be used for the purposes of
implementing best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse; and
(C) any resources or programs, including community
prevention or intervention efforts, that may be used to
assist in targeted violence and terrorism prevention.
SEC. 5006. 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
to seek assistance in grant applications and in carrying out
the best practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse,
including--
(1) a list of contact information to reach Department
personnel to assist with grant-related questions;
(2) the applicable Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency contact information to connect houses of
worship with Protective Security Advisors;
(3) contact information for all Department Fusion Centers,
listed by State;
(4) information on the If you See Something Say Something
Campaign of the Department; and
(5) any other appropriate contacts.
SEC. 5007. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this division or the amendments made by this
division shall be construed to create, satisfy, or waive any
requirement under Federal civil rights laws, including--
(1) title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.); or
(2) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.).
SEC. 5008. EXEMPTION.
Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known
as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'') shall not apply to any
rulemaking or information collection required under this
division or under section 2220E of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002, as added by section 5003 of this division.
SEC. 5009. ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.
(a) Amendment.--Section 904(b)(1) of the DOTGOV Act of 2020
(title IX of division U of Public Law 116-260) is amended, in
the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``Homeland
Security Act'' and inserting ``Homeland Security Act of
2002''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
shall take effect as if enacted as part of the DOTGOV Act of
2020 (title IX of division U of Public Law 116-260).
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