One of the big things we want to improve is health outcomes for patients. That is our large, bipartisan, public policy goal.

We find we spend a lot of money, but we rank 37th nationally in health outcomes.

Thank you, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi, for calling this hearing to discuss implementation of health reform's quality provisions.

This isn't the malpractice issue. This is a systemic failure to identify with these practices.

I find it a bit thin.

Thank you very much, Senator Harkin, for convening this really important hearing, and what I think is one of the most important issues on how we can save lives and save money, which is our emphasis on practical health quality endeavors.

This might be the last billion you get, unless we really show results. That is not a threat, it is an analysis.

I think it is a national disgrace that when we are talking about how to have a more frugal government, how to get our budget costs under control, healthcare costs being No. 1, how we are about to devolve Medicare, we don't have the head of…

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had important quality provisions. It had four guiding principles, and I think it would go very much to some of the points made by Senator Enzi.

They often get a stigma, 'oh that is the charity hospital, that is where the poor go.'

I know my time is up, but to my colleagues, Senator Harkin and Enzi, and others, if you live in Baltimore, you have Hopkins, you have University of Maryland.

But isn't one of the failures to comply a lack of information and lack of follow through, and a lack of actual news that you could use, tips for the practical thing, and the failure--it is usually around the taking of their drugs and their…

In your quest to be the very best and to improve the methodologies of quality, was the government of any help to you?

I hope this will be his last hearing before us, not because he hasn't done a very good job as Secretary of Commerce, but because we know he will play an important role.

I intend to work very closely with your successor so that the fact that when we do the census, even though our population is increasing only by 10 percent, the census for 2010 cost double--double--what it did to do the census in 2000.

We really think that Secretary Locke brought such incredible expertise--not only his own background in the State of Washington, but he, as the Governor of the State of Washington, had to look within his own State and look outward to the…

We also want to know how we can create jobs without having an industrial policy of picking winners and losers.

I am really apprehensive about this, and I don't want a boondoggle in terms of the lack of weather coverage.

the Democratic women of the Senate are on the floor today to talk about the three votes that will occur tomorrow: one, the passing of the continuing resolution, which I reluctantly support because of the many cuts in it, but also the two…

Is this one of the top flashing lights for the next Secretary of Commerce to stand sentry over, working with NOAA and us to make sure this is as on track as we can possibly make it?

There are three Nobel Prize winners who work at NIST.

I think it is phenomenal. It is truly, truly phenomenal, and we are proud of them.

I am concerned about delays.

I think that is good, but I don't think the Secretary of Commerce is America's salesperson.

Now under JPSS, under the continuing resolution, we give JPSS $380 million. We understand that the need could be as much as $900 million.