the prayer will be offered today by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, thank you for giving us another day. all of congress today remembers the who are owic sacrifices and -- heroic sacrifices and accomplishments of the first special forces services force of world war ii.

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as we meditate on all the blessings of life, we especially pray for the blessing of peace if our lives and in our world. our fervent pray

conroy, you have the mike. >> thank you. good morning. chairman castro, commissioners and fellow panelists. my name is steven conroy, and i'm the vice president of facility operations at cca. in that role, i oversee operational aspects of the majority of our i.c.e. facilities to include adherence to the pbnds in standards as well as other requirements of government partners. i'm a correction professional with over 30 years of experience in both public and private corrections settings. the last nine of which i have worked for cca. i'd like to start by thanking the commission for providing me the opportunity to share with you cca's steadfast commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of all individuals entrusted to our care. nothing is more important to our company than the safety and welfare of those entrusted to our care. it is responsible we take very seriously. reflect a thoughtful commitment on a day-to-day and hour to hour basis in our facilities. these efforts are carried out in consultation with our government partners who also

the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. in this chamber, where the people's house gathers, we pause to offer you gratitude for the gift of this good land on which we live, for this great nation which you have inspired in developing over so many years. continue to inspire the american people that through the difficulties of these days we might keep liberty and justice alive in our nation and in the world. give to us and all people a vivid sense of your presence that we may learn to understand each other, to respect each other, to work with each other, to live with each other and to do good to each other. so shall we make our nation great in goodness and good in its greatness. on this day, we also ask your blessing of peace and consolation upon the family of representative alan nunnelee of the first district of mississippi who is being laid to rest this day. bless as well the members of this house, his staff, and all who mourn him. may h

the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy.haplain conroy: let us pray. eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. we thank you once again that we your creatures can come before you and ask guidance for the men and women of this assembly. send your spirit of peace honesty, and fairness during this week of constituent visits. may their ears and hearts be open to listen to the hopes and needs of those whom they represent. bless the people of this great nation with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that they might responsibly participate in our american democracy. please keep all who work for the people's house in good health that they might faithfully fulfill the great responsibility given them in their service to the work of the capitol. bless us this day and every day . may all that is done here this day be fon your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 2-a of house resolution 100 the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. will those on the house floor and tho

gentlemen, please stand as the chaplain of the united states house of representatives, father patrick conroy us pray. lord, may the hands and hearts of this nation be raised in prayer and praise for these heroic members of the first special service force, an elite unit made up of american and canadian soldiers. this legendary special force was tasked with creating havoc behind enemy lines during world war ii and lads the foundation for today's special forces units and the modern day special forces in canada. after extensive training in 1942 near helen that, montana, this special force was deployed to nearly all theaters of the war but emerged as a recognized unit in answer yo italy in 1944 where -- as a recognized unit in anzio, italy in 1944 where it , earned the nickname the devil's brigade from their opposing german forces. may the breath of god uphold their noble and heroic story. we thank you, oh, god, that our two nations remain good neighbors and stand ready to assist one another in any time of danger. bless all women and men in military service, both in canada and here in our nation,

chaplain conroy: let us pray. gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. in this moment of prayer, please grant the members of this people's house as they meet with their respective constituents. the gifts of wisdom and discernment, but in their words and actions they'll do justice, love with mercy and walk humbly with you. we ask, as well your blessing upon those who are especially impacted by the severe weather -- winter weather in this city and throughout so much of our country. may those who work to address the needs of the weak and vulnerable at times like this know they do your work. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 2-a of house resolution 100, the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. pursuant to section 2-b of house resolution 100 the hou

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. eternal god, through whom we see what we could be and what we can become thank you for giving us another day. send you are spirit upon the members of this people's house

this year rose is melissa conroy. also this year abc7 is partner with the united irish society to broadcast st. patrick's day which is march 14th. >> new developments in the battle against isis and the vigil held here for the pilot killed. and the ocean struggling. oxygen drops to dangerous levels. what's the problem and is it too late to reverse it? here's a live look from the roof showing you the bridge and embarcadero. more rain is on the way after a significant storm on ?e ♪ good morning, usher! hey! did you know bees communicate through dance? me too... we're practically twins! bulldog: mattress discounters presidents day sale ending? get up to four years interest-free financing on the entire tempur-pedic cloud collection! and, get a queen size serta mattress and box spring set for just $397. ♪ mattress discounters ♪ . >> welcome back everyone. we are starting this half-hour with a look at the weather with our meteorologist lisa argen. >> hey, carolyn good morning. hope you had time to clean out our gutters and c

conroy, i just have one question for you. pretty simple. of the 35,000 beds under contract that everybody talks about, how many beds does cca have? >> at this moment in time we have about 5500 i.c.e. detainees in custody. >> how many beds does your contract call for? >> oftentimes our contract does not call for a certain number of beds. there are a certain number of beds available at the facility. the beauty of our model is that that number can change as the demand changes over time. we have the flexibility to manage those facilities in such a way to meet the demand when it's there and for us to scale back that operation. >> no no, no. i think i -- because of the last question you probably -- how many beds do you get paid for every day? over the year, basically, the 35,000 beds. >> that is not how our contracts are structured, sir. >> okay. how are they structured? >> most contracts are a per diem basis where the number of beds used is the number of beds charged. >> paid for? >> yes. >> so, we must have some wrong information because we're

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving and gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. help us this day to draw closer to you so that with your spirit and aware of your presence among us we may all face the tasks of this day with grace

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. eternal god, through whom we see what we could be and what we can become thank you for giving us another day. send you are spirit upon the members of this people's house to encourage them in their official tasks. be with them and with all who labor here to serve this great nation and its people. assure them that whatever their responsibilities, you provide the grace to enable them to be faithful to their duties and the wisdom to be conscious of their obligations and fulfill them with integrity. remind us all of the dignity of work and teach us to use our talents and abilities in ways that are honorable and just and are of benefit to those we serve. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from north ca

conroy's company. so i think we've heard a number of issues particularly with respect to women and sexual -- potential alleged sexual assault. >> mr. libel. >> by far the most depressing facility i've been in is the pope county detention facility in livington. i think that's actually an important as well that hasn't been raised is the vast majority of these facilities are operated under intergovernmental service agreements that ice already had with eloy, arizona. >> i thought someone said earlier that 60% of these were the private prison corporations. >> they are. so the way that the contracts flow is that ice will contact with a local government agency which then subcontracts with the private prison corporation. in the case of dilly, ice didn't even want to go through that process, they subtracted -- they expanded an existing agreement that they had with eloy arizona. their very troubled facility. the facility that has had the most deaths of any detention facility since the creation of the department

conroy is the author of "our one common country -- abraham lincoln and the hampton roads peace conference. " this includes many photographs that have been recently colorized, the museum of the confederacy in richmond virginia hosted this 90 minute event. >> i really appreciate this honor, to be invited to speak here at this facility, particularly as a connecticut yankee. i apologize for bringing connecticut yankee weather with me. me, but we have to make due with what we have. i think that most of you will have seen the steven spielberg movie, "lincoln," and if you do, if you have, perhaps you

conroy is the author of "our one common country -- abraham lincoln and the hampton roads peace conference. " this includes many photographs that have been recently colorized, the museum of the confederacy in richmond virginia hosted this 90 minute event. >> i really appreciate this honor, to be invited to speak here at this facility, particularly as a connecticut yankee. i apologize for bringing connecticut yankee weather with me. me, but we have to make due with what we have. i think that most of you will have seen the steven spielberg movie, "lincoln," and if you do, if you have, perhaps you remember the subtext of the movie was the subject of peace negotiations between the north and the south at the very end of the civil war, which is the subject of the book. it's a shorthand way for me to introduce it to people because most people who have the fainted -- faintest interest in the subject will have seen the movie. the cover of the book is on the projector, which redepicts a meeting between lincoln and grant and sherman and admiral porter, who was the senior union admiral at the time. on

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as we meditate on all the blessings of life, we especially pray for the blessing of peace if our lives and in our world. our fervent prayer, o god is that people will learn to live together in reconciliation and respect so that the terrors of war now raging in ukraine, syria, and threatening to spread will be no more. may your special blessings be upon the members of this assembly and the important often difficult work they do. give them wisdom and charity that they might work together for the common good when issues on so many fronts present seemingly impossible roads to cooperation. may all that is done this day in the people's house be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings, and announced to the house his approval there of. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlema

the prayer will be offered today by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, thank you for giving us another day. all of congress today remembers the who are owic sacrifices and -- heroic sacrifices and accomplishments of the first special forces services force of world war ii. when americans and canadians formed for the first time the combined unit trained to be a small elite corps capable of accomplishing the seemingly impossible. may their story be an inspiration to the members of this people's house where a similar cooperative effort toward a shared common goal appears all too often to be seemingly impossible. we ask, o god that all who populate these hallways this day be possessed of goodwill, appreciative of the great exploits of so many of our american ancestors and may all that is said and done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what pu

prayer will be offered by our chaplain father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear god we give you thanks for giving us another day. we ask your special blessing upon the members of this people's house. they face difficult decisions and difficult times, with many forces and interests demanding their attention. in these days give wisdom to all the members, especially as they consider the most serious matter of engaging in military activity. bless as well those who inform them of the issues with honest frankness, knowing of the dangers implied in so many uncertain consequences. bless the men and women of this chamber, o god, and be with them and with us all this day and every day, and may all that is done be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approve the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlelady from california, ms. brownlee. ms. brownlee: i pledge allegiance to the flag of

the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving and gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. help us this day to draw closer to you so that with your spirit and aware of your presence among us we may all face the tasks of this day with grace and confidence. bless the members of the people's house as they return from their home districts. may these decisive days through which we are living make them genuine enough to maintain their integrity. great enough to be humble. good enough to keep their faith. always regarding public office as the sacred trust. give them the wisdom and the courage to fail not their fellow citizens nor you. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: i pledge allegian

chaplain conroy: let us pray. almighty god of the universe, we give you thanks for giving us another day. we pray for the gift of wisdom to all with great responsibility in this house, for the leadership of our nation. may all the members have the vision of a nation where respect and understanding are the marks of civility and where honor and integrity are the marks of one's character. as members take time in the coming week for constituency visits, give them the ability to hear the voices of all in their districts, even those with whom they disagree. this is difficult to do so endow them with patience and a discerning ear. bless us this day and every day and may all that is done within these hallows halls be for your greater honor and glory. amen. -- these hallowed halls be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approl ereo pursua lause 1 oru 1 the journal stands approved. for what purpose doe