IDG News Service - President-elect Barack Obama has outlined an ambitious plan to give every child in the U.S. access to the Internet and to connect the nation's hospitals with "cutting-edge technology."
The items are part of his plan to generate or save 2.5 million jobs over to the next two years and to boost the flagging economy. They were outlined in his weekly video address posted on the Change.gov Web site.
"It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption," Obama said. "Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m president -- because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world."
He also pledged to modernize the nation's schools, make them more energy-efficient with new heating and lighting systems, and put new computers in classrooms.
He also plans to put Internet connections into schools, libraries and hospitals. The latter is part of a plan to connect the health care industry.
"We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting-edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes and help save billions of dollars each year," he said.
What was missing from Obama's address, which also touched on improving energy efficiency in public buildings and investing in physical infrastructure like roads and bridges, was how he plans to pay for the improvements. That may become clearer in the coming weeks as more details are promised.
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