[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

  (Mr. FORTENBERRY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, as Congress takes on the essential task 
of strengthening our health care system, we have an extraordinary 
opportunity here to do something good and right for the American 
people. While the challenges before us are multiple, shifting the 
health care paradigm from a system that treats the symptoms of sickness 
and disease to one that promotes life-long wellness and prevention for 
all Americans would be a very good and meaningful start.
  The current health care debate, which focuses on a loosely defined, 
government-operated ``public option,'' has yet to address several 
underlying complexities within our system. But the essential question 
here is really simple: How do we improve health outcomes and reduce 
costs while protecting vulnerable persons? A thorough policy debate 
must be grounded in these cornerstone objectives to effectively improve 
the quality of and access to health care for all Americans, or else we 
are simply discussing a new government-financing mechanism without 
regard to unsustainable cost projections.

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