{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://summerlee.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-summer-lee-joins-pa-democrats-demanding-answers-on-moshannon-detention-center-finances", "Rep. Summer Lee Joins PA Democrats Demanding Answers on Moshannon Detention Center Finances", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Summer L. Lee", "L000602", "summerlee.house.gov", "summerlee", "https://summerlee.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 \u2014 Yesterday, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) joined Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in demanding answers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), and Clearfield County about the financial relationship behind the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the largest ICE detention center in the Northeast.\n\nThe lawmakers are seeking invoices, payment records, contracts, and communications detailing how taxpayer dollars are being spent at Moshannon as ICE solicits bids for a new contract that could extend immigration detention at the facility for another 10 years. The current five-year agreement is set to expire this month.\n\nThe letter is also signed by Reps. Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), and Chris Deluzio (PA-17).\n\n\u201cAs Members of Congress, it is our responsibility to conduct oversight of government spending and executive action. GEO has reported record profits driven by this administration\u2019s mass deportation and immigrant surveillance campaigns. As part of these efforts, ICE and Clearfield County have both funneled Pennsylvanians\u2019 taxpayer dollars to GEO. More importantly, our constituents have been detained at Moshannon. It is incumbent on us, as their elected representatives, to investigate the contract terms that peg their detention to GEO\u2019s profit,\u201d the members wrote.\n\nICE recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit contract bids that would extend immigration detention at Moshannon for another 10 years. The current five year contract is due to expire this month. The RFP sets an expedited timeline \u2014 just two weeks of visibility for the public from the time it was posted online (August 28, 2026) to when the Phase 1 Proposal(s) were due (September 11, 2026). This timing is in line with other attempts by the administration to rush government contracts and obscure how taxpayer funds are being spent.\n\nBoth Congress and the public must be able to evaluate the financial impact of the current agreement governing Moshannon before a new contract is awarded. Currently, an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) between ICE and Clearfield County provides for the operation of the Moshannon facility and services related to the detention of persons in ICE custody, with GEO as the approved private contractor delivering those services. This contracting structure thwarts oversight because it delays the availability of crucial financial details.\n\nThe IGSA agreement requires that the County submit an itemized operating fee to ICE on a monthly basis, which ICE then reviews and approves for payout. According to recent reports, the monthly fixed rate includes a monthly operating fee, which began as $2.95 million per month and may have adjusted over time, a per diem fee of $10 per day for 1 through 800 detainees and $40 per day for 801 to 1876 detainees, reimbursement of one dollar per day for the detainee work program, transportation fees, and fees for guards.\n\n\u201cWe request that you provide us with any and all monthly invoices for services provided pursuant to the IGSA and all communications regarding such invoices and payments made for such services at Moshannon from January 1, 2025, to present, by and among ICE, GEO, and Clearfield County,\u201d the members continued. \u201cWe also request all invoices, payments, and communications by and among the parties and detainees regarding payments for and operation of the \u201cdetainee work program,\u201d from January 1, 2025, to the present.\u201d\n\n\u201cFinally, to the extent that additional agreements exist directly between GEO and Clearfield County, we request such agreements, corresponding contracts, any amendments or modifications, payment receipts, invoices, and supplemental documentation,\u201d the members concluded.\n\nIn the letter, the members have requested a number of materials by September 25, 2026 \u2014 prior to the expiration of the current IGSA between ICE and Clearfield County, which is set to expire on September 28, 2026.\n\nFind the full text of the letter here.\n\nCongresswoman Lee has repeatedly conducted oversight of conditions at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. In August 2025, Rep. Lee and a Human Rights First advocate attempted an oversight visit following reports of abuse and the death of a person detained at the facility, but ICE officials denied them entry. In May 2026, Rep. Lee returned with Rep. Chris Deluzio for an unannounced oversight visit. The lawmakers spent approximately two hours inside the facility and heard directly from people detained there about concerns including inadequate medical care, food quality, and conditions for pregnant women. Congressional staff and translators were denied entry, limiting the lawmakers\u2019 ability to communicate with people detained inside.\n\nIn the weeks surrounding that oversight effort, additional reports raised concerns about retaliation against people who spoke out about conditions at Moshannon, including a detained man who said he was placed in solitary confinement and later transferred out of state after being accused of encouraging others to refuse meals in protest. Rep. Lee has continued pressing ICE and GEO for answers about conditions, medical care, treatment of detained people, retaliation, and efforts to obstruct congressional oversight, including joining Pennsylvania colleagues in an August 2026 demand for additional records and accountability from ICE and GEO. Rep. Lee also helped introduce the Oversight Access Act to strengthen lawmakers\u2019 ability to conduct unannounced oversight at ICE facilities.", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://summerlee.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-summer-lee-joins-pa-democrats-demanding-answers-on-moshannon-detention-center-finances"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.573990797623992, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}