Over a year after the deadly firebombing attack targeting an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who represents the city, and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced legislation to modify Nonprofit Security Grant Program conditions to allow grantees to use funding for staffing costs.

Currently, synagogues and other NSGP recipients are allowed to use funding to hire contracted security guards. Under the new bill, the Safe Spaces for All Act, grantees would also be able to use funding to hire full-time security staff, as well as off-duty police officers.

The bill would also allow institutions to use up to 5% of a grant to pay staff to prepare grant applications and administer grants. Supporters of the program have frequently highlighted that the laborious grant application process is a significant obstacle for small congregations and institutions that may not have dedicated grant-writing staff.

“We must do far more to combat the scourge of antisemitism, and to ensure that synagogues, temples and community centers have the resources to ensure that they are safe as hateful threats and violent actions metastasize in Colorado and across the country,” Neguse, who serves as the assistant Democratic leader, said in a statement. “The Safe Spaces for All Act bolsters security for our communities, and ensures that under these incredibly trying circumstances, members of the community can feel protected and supported.”

Bacon, a retiring House member who co-chairs the House antisemitism task force, said that “every nonprofit, especially faith-based and community organizations, deserves to safely serve their communities.”

“As threats increasingly target our vital civic and religious institutions, this straightforward, pragmatic measure ensures we’re providing the tools needed to keep Americans safe — without creating a new bureaucracy,” he continued.

The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and the JEWISHcolorado Jewish Community Relations Council are also supporting the bill.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, emphasized that Jewish community defenses must “evolve and escalate” at pace with the threats facing them, and that security personnel are often “the first person you meet” inside an American synagogue today.

“The Safe Spaces for All Act meets that reality head-on by modernizing the Nonprofit Security Grant Program so at-risk organizations can protect the people they serve,” Greenblatt said.

Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of JFNA, said that community institutions “require flexible, practical tools to keep communities safe” and that the bill “clarifies eligible uses under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, ensuring organizations can use these resources to address their evolving security needs.”

The Colorado JCRC said that “security is not one-size-fits-all” and that security personnel and grant-management capacity “are just as critical as the cameras, barriers, and other physical improvements.”

The Safe Space for All Act, the group continued, “would provide institutions the flexibility to use NSGP funding where it can have the greatest impact — making the program more accessible, responsive, and effective.”