[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 4, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HEALTH CARE--IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE

  (Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Ladies and gentlemen of America, the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $20 billion to accelerate the 
adoption of health information systems by doctors and hospitals; these 
are electronic medical records. This will modernize health care in this 
country, it will save billions of dollars by reducing the need for 
duplicate diagnostic procedures, it will reduce medical errors and 
improve the quality of services. This will create or save hundreds of 
thousands of jobs, many in the high-tech sectors, tens of billions of 
dollars in system-wide savings, including a net reduction in private 
health insurance premiums for families.
  I want the public to know that it's time for change. Our health care 
system should have been addressed many, many years ago, but under this 
new administration and under this Democratic leadership of this fine 
body, we are doing what needs to be done in order to put this country 
in a posture it needs to be in for the new millennium.

                          ____________________