December 5, 2007

THE PRESIDENT: It is a joy to be here at the One World 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 accomplishment¹, 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 compassionate² health care here for their work. I remind the people of Omaha that this is a public-private partnership³; 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 sector⁴, 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 awareness⁵ of how important One World 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 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 vitality⁶ 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 -- 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 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.

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 chuckled⁷.

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