[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 49 (Monday, December 10, 2007)]
[Pages 1566-1567]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting on Health Care and an Exchange With 
Reporters in Omaha

December 5, 2007

    The President. It is a joy to be here at the OneWorld Community 
Health Center in Omaha. I want to thank Andrea and Dr. McVea for the 
tour.
    I say it's a joy because the spirit here, the spirit of community, 
the desire to help people who are less fortunate is prevalent. People 
here feel a great sense of community and accomplishment. And as well 
they should because community health centers, not only here in Omaha but 
around the country, provide a very vital service. I happen to think 
they're an integral part of a health care system because they provide 
care for the low-income, for the newly arrived, and they take the 
pressure off of our hospital emergency rooms.
    And so I've come to thank the staff and the providers of 
compassionate health care here for their work. I remind the people of 
Omaha that this is a public-private partnership. The Federal Government 
is a--and my administration strongly supports the expansion and the 
extension and the reach of these community health centers. But the 
private sector, the public, needs to support these centers as well.
    We spent a little time talking about whether or not the community 
understands the importance of a community health center. This community 
does. I think there is some awareness of how important OneWorld is, and 
I would hope that other citizens that aren't aware would find out the 
importance of a community health center.
    When I--in 2000, when I was running, I said, look, I believe these 
are important centers because they provide an integral service, and they 
take pressure off of our health care systems around the country. And so 
I laid out a goal of expanding and--the health care centers by 1,200, 
and we're meeting that goal. And I want to thank Members of Congress 
from both parties for understanding the importance and the vitality of 
community health centers. And I look forward to working with Congress to 
continue to expand the reach of these important facilities.
    And so, again, I want to thank you all for your hospitality. I 
really appreciate you giving me a chance to come to--a part of our 
national strategy is to make sure the uninsured can find good-quality 
primary care. This center serves--85 percent of its people don't speak 
English as a first language. By far, the

[[Page 1567]]

vast majority are low-income, and yet they're receiving first-class 
quality care. So I thank the docs and the nurses and the social workers 
and all the people who are making this facility such a good one.
    Thanks for having me.

Iran

    Q. Iran's President said the NIE is a victory for Iran. They want an 
apology from the United States and compensation, sir. Will you do that? 
Is the NIE a victory for Iran?
    The President. [Laughter] You can mark down I chuckled.

Note: The President spoke at 10:23 a.m. in the Adah and Leon Millard 
Foundation Conference Room at OneWorld Community Health Centers. In his 
remarks, he referred to Andrea Skolkin, executive director, and Kristine 
McVea, medical director, OneWorld Community Health Centers. A reporter 
referred to President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran. A portion of these 
remarks could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.