Sponsors (48)
Official title: To establish a Federal Clearinghouse on Safety and Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, Faith-based Organizations, and Houses of Worship within the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 30, 2025 by Grace Meng · Last progress September 30, 2025
The bill centralizes vetted safety/security guidance and federal funding visibility for nonprofits and houses of worship—improving preparedness and access to resources—while risking exclusion of non-501(c)(3) groups, legal concerns over faith-based favoritism, centralized sensitive data, and added federal costs and administrative burdens.
Nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and houses of worship get a centralized, federal clearinghouse of vetted safety and security best practices, improving preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery.
Nonprofits and religious organizations gain a centralized index of federal grants and application guidance (with links and eligibility information), making it easier to find funding opportunities.
Organizations receive evidence-based tiers and minimum criteria for safety practices, strengthening physical and online security through clearer standards and recommended actions.
Nonprofits and religious entities that lack 501(c)(3) status could be excluded from clearinghouse benefits, and the program could be perceived as favoring faith-based groups, risking legal challenges and church/state concerns.
DHS discretion to designate which 501(c)(3) organizations are 'at-risk' may leave some groups out and create uncertainty for nonprofits seeking assistance.
Standing up and running the Clearinghouse (and potential subsequent Congressional expansion of grants) will require staffing and maintenance and could increase federal spending, imposing costs on taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DHS Federal Clearinghouse to publish evidence-based physical and online safety best practices for nonprofits and houses of worship and requires a GAO report on related federal grants and programs.
Creates a DHS-run Federal Clearinghouse to collect, publish, and teach evidence-based best practices for physical and online safety and security for nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and houses of worship, and to provide information about federal grant programs available to those entities. Requires DHS to staff the Clearinghouse, post a public point of contact, and develop tiered, evidence-based classifications of recommended practices. Also directs the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on federal grants, programs, and resources devoted to safety and security for these organizations.