[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27124]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you about a friend of mine, 
Kelly Conklin, who owns a small business in New Jersey, since that is 
what we have been hearing from many of my friends on the other side. It 
is a small woodworking business.
  Each year, Kelly has to determine the best set of benefits at the 
best price based on his employees and their needs. Unfortunately, the 
options dictated to him by an insurer leave him with very few choices. 
He has zero negotiating power. That is why the exchange is a great idea 
for small businesses to deal with the problems, because offering 
coverage is the right thing for him to do and the best way for him to 
attract the most skilled employees.
  Kelly is literally at the whim of his insurer. For 2010, he faces a 
35 percent increase in premiums. How in God's name can we justify this 
by a bill that the other side has presented that is cheap because it 
doesn't do anything?

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