Religious leaders, lawmakers push for $1 billion to secure houses of worship

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

May 24, 2026 8:00 AM ET


At a recent Shabbat service in West Bloomfield, Mich., Rabbi Jen Lader shared plans to lobby Congress to pour more funding into a federal program that strengthens security at houses of worship. "We are not asking Congress to just protect Jews – we are asking Congress to protect every community of Americans that gathers to pray. And we are asking with the full weight of what we have just lived through behind us," she said, referencing the March attack on her congregation of Temple Israel.

The fact that no one was killed other than the attacker is a credit, Lader said, to their security personnel and rigorous staff training. "If we had not had those resources and that funding, this would have been a really different story," she told NPR. "And we cannot allow a single other community to experience something as horrific as we've experienced, knowing that there were resources that could have gone into saving lives."

Lader and over 400 other Jewish leaders travelled to D.C. this week to push for an increase in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which awards funding to nonprofits to enhance security – from installing door locks and security cameras to erecting bollards to prevent vehicles from crashing into buildings.

"It's tragic that we have to be thinking about this in the same way that TSA protects airports and businesses protect their premises, but we have to," said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, the group leading the lobbying effort this week. The advocacy push on Capitol Hill happened to come just one day after two teenagers attacked a San Diego mosque, killing three men and themselves.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/24/nx-s1-5815007/religious-leaders-lawmakers-push-for-1-billion-to-secure-houses-of-worship

[biophile]

1. No. Just no

Aren’t they supposed to be praying in private anyway?
No federal money for religion

[msongs]

2. no thanks. they can pray to their god(s) for protection nt

[EarthFirst]

3. Nope.

Tithe harder.

[pfitz59]

4. No state religion

and no tax payer funds for any religion.

[Americanme]

5. I don't want to be rude, but

why isn't their all-powerful, all-seeing, magical god protecting them? For free?

[in2herbs]

6. I suggest we offer them thoughts and prayers instead. nt

[mdbl]

7. It should be up to local municipalities, not the federal government

What do they want, ICE agents standing guard at the back of the assembly? Disgusting.

[slightlv]

8. Nope. Absolutely not. Separation of Church and State, for one.

For another, pray harder. YOUR god is suppose to be all powerful, right? Are you now admitting the opposite?!

There are many of us who can't even worship in our own backyards safely and securely. Yet you (also) want a billion dollars of MY money to guarantee safety at your church of four walls, a roof, and a basement?! Just nope.

Have you noticed how many of these maga types have come pleading with their hands out for a billion here, and a million there for their pet peeves and projects? Trump is the biggest beggar... but certainly not the only one! But there's never one red cent for anything that actually helps everybody... like food, healthcare, or safety in everyday lives.

Be like so many of the rest of us. Go into your closet or your bedroom. Close the door, and pray in private like your Book tells you to do. And pray for the grace to see the harm in what you just asked for.

[paleotn]

9. That's a negative.

Take it up with your invisible friend.

[dalton99a]

10. Fuck that shit.

[reACTIONary]

11. The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) provides funding ....

..... for target hardening and other physical security enhancements and activities to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of terrorist attack. The intent is to integrate nonprofit preparedness activities with broader state and local preparedness efforts. It is also designed to promote coordination and collaboration in emergency preparedness activities among public and private community representatives, as well as state and local government agencies.

https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/nonprofit-security

Presumably this would apply to Planned Parenthood and other secular organizations that are typically threatened by extremists. Not sure if it actually works out that way, however.

Active shooter training; security training for employees or members of the organization; and response exercises are allowable security related activities. There's is no indication that security personal are provided or their salaries subsidized.

[Devilsun]

12. I'm not a gambling man, but i dont think congress will appropriate any money to protect mosques.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

13. Just rename all houses of worship, Ballrooms, and everyone inside will be protected!

[Buddyzbuddy]

14. Separation, separation, separation!

I don't want your church/temple/mosque reaching into my pocket.

Sorry Rabbi but Netanyahu made your lives a little more treacherous by his barbaric conduct. I honestly don't want to see harm come to the Jewish people here or in Israel. But maybe you should ask contributors to AIPAC to cover your additional security expenses.

Find peace, make peace

[Grins]

15. Hey! Getting shot in religious venues is what America is about!

Not to leave out elementary schools. Sad to say.

Odd that he didn’t mention getting rid of the guns, the one common denominator, used in those murders.

I’m tired of paying MILLIONS of dollars to harden public and private buildings, and for “resource officers” in schools, because of guns and that damn 2nd Amendment.