S. 2947 — Pray Safe Act of 2025

This section defines terms used in the Act: (1) Clearinghouse as the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, Faith-based Organizations, and Houses of Worship established under section 3(a); (2) Department as the Department of Homeland Security; (3) faith-based organization as a nonprofit organization with a religious, ideological, or spiritual motivation, character, affiliation, or purpose; (4) house of worship as a place or building (e.g., synagogue, mosque, temple, church) where congregants practice religious or spiritual beliefs; (5) nonprofit organization as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity determined by the Secretary to be at risk of terrorist attack or other threat; (6) safety and security as prevention of, protection against, or recovery from threats and incidents, including natural disasters, manmade disasters, or terrorist attacks; and (7) Secretary as the Secretary of Homeland Security.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and other appropriate agency heads, to establish within the Department, not later than 270 days after enactment, the Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Security Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, Faith-based Organizations, and Houses of Worship. The Clearinghouse serves as the primary federal resource to publish online evidence-based best practices and recommendations for safety and security—including threat prevention, preparedness, protection, mitigation, incident response, and recovery from natural disasters, manmade disasters, terrorist attacks, and other threats—and to provide information on federal grant programs available to such organizations. It requires (1) development of evidence-based tiers prioritizing strong evidence from well-designed experimental studies and moderate evidence from quasi-experimental studies, while considering promising evidence; (2) best practices that identify areas of concern (e.g., event planning, checklists, facility hardening, tabletop exercises), are supported by federal, state, local, tribal, private sector, and nongovernmental research, and improve safety for individuals in these facilities; (3) a comprehensive index of eligible federal grant programs, including required performance metrics; and (4) assignment of qualified personnel, including at least one designated point of contact whose information is posted on the Clearinghouse website.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress a report on the state of federal grants devoted to safety and security for nonprofit organizations—including faith-based organizations—and houses of worship, along with an evaluation of relevant federal programs and resources for such purposes as of the report date.