Senator Harkin, I've often heard you say that we have a 'sickcare system' not a health care system, and I couldn't agree more that it's time to change that.

opening statement

I do not have a primary care doctor.

Now more than ever, we have the opportunity for comprehensive, meaningful health reform, and we must take bold steps where we have been timid in our policies to protect and preserve health, to rebuild what we have let crumble in public…

We have really got to focus on--sorry, Dr. Butler, I know aging and----

Senator Harkin, I know you're familiar with the program, and that you visited the Oak Street Middle School in Iowa this fall to see the changes, big and small, that the school has made through that program.

An important first step is being taken now by Congress and the administration under your leadership, Senator Harkin, to increase the investment in prevention in the Economic Recovery and Investment Act.

Now every school in America has developed a wellness policy. The problem is I wanted it to be a wellness policy based upon the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine. I lost that. I am coming back this year.

I can tell you in my experience in Iowa, I have a number of cases of primary care doctors...

I have been thinking.

I have got a new idea. That is to marry the public health system with our community health centers.

What we are trying to do, and I think you will see immediately in this stimulus package--by the way, a significant increase in funding for the National Health Service Corps.

I urge you to increase stable funding and incentives for both community-based programs and clinical preventive services.

That is very true.

I think that is a great point because the cases I mentioned that I know I have in my head are all primary care doctors...

I cannot do that.

I think there are a lot of synergies there that I think could be very beneficial.

You have got to get these kids early on.