[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. WALZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today and know that this 
Congress has started tackling the issue of health care reform in a 
real, meaningful way. Already this Congress has passed legislation that 
will provide health insurance to millions of uninsured children, bring 
health care into the 21st century with new health information 
technology, and start us on the path of providing high-quality care at 
a lower cost.
  My home State of Minnesota has been a leader in this. In my district, 
the Mayo Clinic, in particular, is a renowned medical institution that 
has always been at the forefront of efforts to reform and improve 
health care. They helped pioneer the use of electronic medical records. 
Electronic medical records reduce the time patients spend in waiting 
rooms filling out forms, and they also let doctors access a patient's 
history immediately, reducing errors. They cut down on administrative 
costs, saving our entire system billions of dollars. In addition to 
leading the way on medical technology, Mayo has been a leader in 
providing high-quality care.
  As we move forward on health care reform, we need to acknowledge our 
current rewards quantity over quality. We can look to Mayo, which has 
been lauded for its ability to produce the highest quality outcomes at 
the lowest possible cost.
  I am proud to represent my district, and I think we can lead the way 
to meaningful reform.

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