the country who are deciding that personal responsibility and the incentives for that kind of personal behavior is the right way to address some of these rising costs of health care -- certainly the safeway example that i described is in that general a. mr. president, our time is just about up. i wanted to say again, i think we'll vote tomorrow night, come back after things giving and my guess is that for three or four weeks we will have a substantial, generous a discussion about how best to put the brakes on health care costs. this has to be done in a way that is fiscally responsible. it has to be done in a way that is effective. if not, there ought not be legislation passed, in my judgment. if so, if we can do this in a way that is fiscally responsible, in a way that helps the american people and begins to put the brakes on these skyrocketing health care costs, then i would was to be a part of that. mr. president, i yield the

floor. mr. dorgan: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president, awb that the senate proceed to a period of monk business with senators permitted to -- morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, on behalf of chairman baucus, i ask unanimous consent that the list of staff from the senate finance committee which is at the desk be granted floor privileges during the debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 3590 and that the cloture vote -- and the cloture vote, rather, on the motion to proceed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h. con. res.

214, the adjournment resolution, received from the house and at thdesk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 214, providing for a conditional conl adjournment of the house of representatives and a conditional recess or adjournment of the senate. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that s. 1194, as reported by the committee on commerce, science, and transportation, be star printed with the changes at the desk. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: and final, mr. president -- and finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider en bloc executive calendars number 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547,

548, 549, and 551 and all nominations on the secretary's desk in the foreign service, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, that no further motions be in order, that any statements relating to the nominations appear at the appropriate place in the record as if read, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:45 a.m. tomorrow, saturday, november 21. that following the prayer and the pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: and the senate resume the motion to proceed to h.r. 3590 with debate as provided for under the previous order. finally, i ask that the republicans control the time from 8:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

tonight. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, the senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to h.r. 3590, the legislative vehicle for the patient protection and affordability act of 2009. i ask that following the remarks of senator enzi, the senate adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. roberts: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. roberts: mr. president, thank you. i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to engage in a colloquy with my republican colleagues. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. roberts: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that my staff member, mr. brett king, have access to the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. roberts: i thank the president. mr. president, the health care bill. the health care bill.

there are a lot of things in this bill that i object to. the $2.5 trillion cost, the 24 million people still left uninsured, the unconscionable half trillion-dollar cuts to medicare and our senior citizens, with another half trillion in job-killing tax increases. in my view, the stunning assaults on liberty and the orwellian policies making health insurance even more expensive, any one of these things would make me vote "no" on this bill. but one issue has me troubled the most and that is the issue of rationing. and we have several of my colleagues here who are going to speak to this subject, and we will engage in a colloquy. i don't think this issue has really sunk in for the american people and, for that matter, the

media. so i want everyone to understand something: this bill aims to control the government spending by rationing your access to health care. let me repeat that. this bill aims to control the government spending by rationing your access to health care. there are at least four entities -- we decided to call them the rationers -- who will stand between you and your doctor, and these four entities are represented by the four walls on this chart behind me blocking the doctor-patient relationship. you can see a pair of senior citizens, and with frowns on their faces, and then we have the rationers. we have an institute, a board, a center and a task force, some of which are in place now and some are want. but every senator should know about them. and every health care recipient, more especially senior citizens, should know about them. and then there's the doctor patiently waiting over here.

patient-centered outcomes, we're going to start with the first one. patient-centered outcomes research institute. senator reid's bill establishes the patient-centered outcomes research institute -- right he here. that's the first wall -- to conduct something called comparative effectiveness research, or c.e.r. mr. president, c.e.r. is research that compares two or more of the same treatment options for the same condition to see which one works best, and that sounds like a good idea. but, unfortunately, when c.e.r. is conducted by a government under pressure to meet a budget, it can be manipulated in some very sinister and counterproductive ways. as has been demonstrated by the united kingdom's c.e.r. institute. they call theirs the national institute for health and clinical excellence. the acronym is n.i.c.e. but n.i.c.e. is not very nice in great britain. n.i.c.e. is notorious for

delaying or outright denying access to health care treatments based on c.e.r. that takes into account the cost of the treatment and the government's appraisal of the worth of the patient's life or comfort. some of the more shocking c.e.r. decisions handed down by n.i.c.e. over the years include restricting drugs to save seniors' vision from mack you're ler degeneration -- macular h degeneration, but they wait on it until the patient is blind in one eye. inconceivable. denying access to breakthrough treatments for aggressive brain tumors and refusing to allow alzheimer's therapy until the patient deteriorates. the patient-centered outcomes research institute will be the american version of n.i.c.e. using c.e.r. to save the government money by rationing your health care. over the past few months, i have offered several amendments, along with senator kyl, senator coburn, senator enzi to protect

american patients from n.i.c.e.-style rationing. try to put the word "prohibit" in the amendments -- prohibit this vehicle right here from cost containment and to concentrate on care of patients. unfortunately they've all been voted down on party-line votes. "help" committee, finance committee and previously on the floor. let's move to the independent medicare advisory group. that's the second wall inbetween our seniors here and our frowning doctor. the oh balm many-reid bill establishes -- the obama-reid bill established a new advisory board, an unelected body of 15 experts, who will decide medicare payment policy behind closed doors with minimal congressional input. something that's happening all too often around here. and although the bill says that this anonymous board shall not include any recommendation to ration health care, what else would you call denying coverage for medicare patients based on cost?

and that's what this board will do: deny a payment for knee replacements or heart surgery or breakthrough drugs, all to achieve an arbitrary government spending target. i don't know what you call that but i call that rationing, mr. president. also notice that this board will necessarily ration access to health care based on age and disability. its payments policies will only affect the elderly and disabled who receive medicare. what will be a patient's recourse if medicare refuses to pay for an innovative, new therapy that could save or prolong their life? these are the reasons why the "wall street journal" has dubbed this board "the rationing commission." let us move now to the c.m.s. innovation center. we've come to the third wall streen the doctor -- we've come to the third wall between the doctor and our two seniors, still not smiling. the centers for medicare and medicaid services, or c.m.s. --

and every health care provider knows who that is -- administers the medicare program upon which 43 million americans rely. that's almost 15% of the population. now, listen up. c.m.s. already rations care. that's already been referred to by senator thune and others in their comments on the floor. it is not authorized to but it does so indirectly through payment policies that curtail the use of virtual colonoscopies, certain wound healing devices and asthma drugs. in fact, the courts recently had to intervene to prevent c.m.s. was rationing a relatively expensive asthma drug in medicare because rationing is against the law now. however, the reid bill establishes a new c.m.s. innovation center -- right her here -- which will for the first time grant c.m.s. broad authority to decide which treatments to ration. let's go now to the u.s.

preventive services task force. that's the last one right here. the u.s. preventive services task force is yet another panel of appointed experts -- a lot of those -- that makes recommendations on what preventive services patients should receive. currently, the task force recommendations are optional, but the reid bill bequeaths this unelected and unaccountable body with new powers to determine insurance benefit requirements in medicare, medicaid and even in the private market. and the task force has already revealed the types of recommendations that it will be making. just last week, it decided to reverse its long-standing recommendation that women get regular, routine mammograms to detect breast cancer starting at age 40. up with really has to wonder if the task force's abrupt aboutface has anything to do with the fact that the federal government's financial responsibility for these

screenings and for the health care needs they could potentially reveal will be greatly expanded if this health care reform bill passes. in the words of one prominent harvard professor -- and i'm quoting him, not me -- "tens of thousands of lives are being saved by this screening and these idiots" -- perhaps a poor choice of words -- "want to do away with it. it's crazy. it's unethical." the outcry from the oncologists, the american cancer society, the american college of radiology, and breast cancer survivors and families across the country has forced our health and human services secretary, kathleen is sebelius, to backpeddle away from the task force recommendations saying that they do not affect government policy. as a matter of fact, kathleen said, let you and your doctor make that decision. but this bill relies on the task force's recommendation some 14 times throughout the legislation to set benefits and determine copayments and make grant

awards. so contrary to the secretary's assertion, if this bill passes, the recommendation of the task force will become government policy. and not only that, they will be forced on to private insurers as well. now, some may ask after my comments: why so cynical, senator why want trust these tools, that they will only be used for good -- and i hope that's the case -- to advance medical science and patient ca care? and to those folks, i'd like to answer by showing you this chart over here by dr. ezekiel emanuel and his complete lives system. as many of you know, dr. emanuel is the brother of white house chief of staff rahm ammanuel. he is a bioethicist and one of those special advisors to the president. perhaps he could actually be the rationing czar. dr. emmanuel has published some

very disturbing ideas on how to ration care, which can be summed up by this brave new world humpback whale graph that we have here along with ages -- aging growchtz population. -- groups of the population. dr. emmanuel complete lives system, something that sounds a little bit like a cure-all lecture out of texas, basically works off the flare the more you are, the more -- the more or less that you deserve in health care. i'd like to point out that the average age of a u.s. senator is 62, just something for all of you to think about as you look at where the money is available for health care under the complete lives system, which is the blueprint for the bill that we are considering. ten years old? you're doing pretty good right here. 20 years old? that's when you think you're bulletproof and you don't want insurance but you've got a lot under this plan. 30, you're in pretty good shape. 40, here comes the roller

coaster. 50, you're in trouble. 60, you might as well forget it. 70, well, you're off the chart. so basically, president obama has clearly listened to dr. emmanuel's counsel, if you remember his observation in an interview this summer, that as patients get closer to the end of their life, maybe you're better off not having the surgery but taking shots and painkillers instead i consider that statement to be unbelievable. as someone who falls towards the end of dr. emmanuel's bell curve here, right over there, this type of thinking is just unbelievable. tell someone they cannot have a knee replacement because they're too old. how old is too old according to dr. emmanuel. there was a report on the age rationing in canada and apparently in that country 57 is too old for a hip replacement or hip surgery. because they can drive south and find care here in the u.s., i'm

not sure if they will go if this bill passes. the white house may claim that i'm taking dr. emmanuel's musing out of context. my response to it is this, this is the context right here. this is how the government will contain costs. all of the policies viewed through the pris. of these ideas, this institute, this board, this center, this task force, follows that blueprint. this is the goal to save the government money by rationing care. by basing that rationing on some psuedoscientific graph like this. and at least in the united kingdom they're honest about it. these are the tools of rationing. these tools will restrict your ability and your family's ability to get a knee replacement, breakthrough cancer drug or team for alzheimer's -- treatment or alzheimer's or a mammogram. they will destroy the american

health care system if allowed to go through this context of dr. ezekiel emmanuel. they will destroy the american health care system, the best health care system in the world, and they are the main reason why i will vote no on this bill. i yield to senator inhofe. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. snowe: thank you, mr. president. as i rise this evening after months of effort and countless hours of meetings, discussions, markup in the senate finance committee to craft a health care reform bill, i had hoped to come to the floor today to talk strictly about the substance and policy about one of the most complex and intricate undertakings that the congress has ever confronted. instead we're dprontd with procedural gyrations that are as

baffling to those outside the beltway as they are to those in some of the most critical elements in health care reform. as one who worked constructively to forge solutions to this endemic problem plaguing our health care health care system, i think it is imperative to assure affordable health insurance to the people of this country. it must be done so in an effective and common sense, and bipartisan way. it matters what's in those two thousand pages. that's why i find it deeply disconcerting that the senate in its artifically generated haste to begin debate has resorted to this procedure before us, to proceed to an empty shell bill, which is replaced with actual health reform legislation, there is -- the two bills passed by the senate finance committee and the health, education, labor and pension. mr. president, the reality is beginning our deliberations in

the senate with tactics rather than transparency does nothing to enhance the credibility with the american public at a time when so many are already understandably wary of the speed and direction of congress on this transformational issue. as i had mentioned on numerous occasions, it took a year and a half to pass medicare to cover 20 million seniors. so we simply cannot address health care on a legislative fast track and i'm truly disappointed that we're commencing this historic debate on one of the most significant and pressing issues of our time with a process that has drawn a political line in the stand and foresaled the ability to arrive at a consensus on some of the crucial elements of health care reform. again, mr. president, i arrive at this moment as one fully emersed in this issue with senate finance committee process, the so-called group of six with the committee we were engaged in deliberations for almost four months intensively on a weekly basis.

recognizing the pearlless state of -- perilous coverage of -- state of being health care coverage and the health care system that must be solved. 10 million more americans have lost their insurance since the last attempt at health insurance reform in 1993. today 75 million americans are burdened by inadequate or nonexistent coverage. over the last decade insurance premiums risen by 131%. if you look at this chart, 131%, contrasting that with growth an wages of 38% and inflation 28%. that's what happened over the last decade when it comes to health insurance costs. in my home state of maine from 2001 to 2009, we've been hammered with a stunning 271% increase in average health insurance premiums in a small group insurance market. it's been estimated by the business roundtable that we can expect premiums to grow 166% by

2019, absent any reform. so given this current -- its current trend health care costs will continue to grow and more than double the rate of inflation, further driving up premiums, sending the entirety of the entire health insurance into a death spiral. health care could double to $33 trillion. the average cost of a family-based plan will reac reach $30,000 a decade from now if we fail to act. even as everyone has differing opinions on how to address this issue, virtually everyone that i've encountered agrees the system is broken. in recent poll that asks how much if at all should the health care system in the united states be changed? an astounding 38% said -- 4% a great deal or moderate amount. 2% of all small business owners want congress to enact some kind of reform and no wonder as small

businesses have experienced annual premium increases of at least 20% year after year after year. and the reality that this is not simply a solution in search after problem is what really brought us together in the senate finance committee in the so-called group of six that i commend chairman baucus and senator grassley as well. chairman baucus wanted to convene on a bipartisan basis earlier this year. it was the only bipartisan effort any committee in the house or the senate and we met more than 31 times to debate policy, not politics in attempting to reach a bipartisan consensus on reform legislation. there really reflected the kind of extensive, meticulous process that an issue of this magnitude requires because the american people understand intuitively when you debate future of one-sixth of our economy in a matter of such personal and financial significance to every american, we shouldn't be railroading solutions along partisan lines. and to that point and a cautionary point for all of us a

recent gallup poll showed that a majority of americans are bind them. without question people are already apprehensive about congress's ably to reform the system with gallup also finding that 66% of americans believe their member of congress doesn't have a good understanding of the issues involved in the current debate. well, mr. president, if there's one thing i've learned from my more than 30 years of legislative experience, is that the only way to allay people's fears is by systematically working through the concerns, the issues and the alternatives. in fact, it was an aheerns to that that led up -- led to the finance committee markup and reported out of the committee that i supported. far from perfect, it produced a watershed bipartisan market reform, navigated the ideologies on both end of the political spectrum, building on the system and fostering choices, competition, and coverage and

change, the accelerating cost curve of our health care spending. at the same time that was but one, albeit, significant step in the process. as i ahead in my remarks at the conclusion of the markup, it would be imperative moving forward that a course of action give deference to the scope and complexity of the issue. and there should be an inclination by the majority to earn broader support. the bottom line is policies that will affect more than 300 million people essentially should not be decided by partisan one-vote margin strategies. thinking back over this last century, just consider for a moment social security, civil rights, or medicare could have been as strongly woven into the fabric of our nation had they passed by only one vote and on purely partisan lines. instead, as you can observe from this chart, these votes all occurred during a time when democrats controlled both the congress and the white house. so security -- social security

passed the senate with 64% of republican support, 79% in the house, civil rights, 82% in the senate, in the house 80%. medicare would have passed in 1965 the senate republicans 41%, the house 50%. so those were significant bipartisan support. because it engendered a process of a consensus based approach, mr. president. those are not only impressive numbers illustrating the strong bipartisan support that landmark legislation garnered in the past, but it would be nothing short of myth logical in today's political environment. at a time when we're supposed to be in a world of post partisan politics, we're facing a vote along partisan lines. when it comes to the subject at hand, the most consequential health care legislation in the history of our country and reordering $33 trillion in health care spending over the coming decade, surely we can and

must do better. in a recent column, david broader captured the path we should follow, he wrote that scholars will make the point when complex legislation is being shaped, the substance it likely to be improved when both sides of the aisle contribute ideas. end quote. i couldn't agree more. when it comes to procedural gymnastics designed to move us to a purely partisan bill as quickly as possible on an issue as monumental as health care, that only serves to enhance public cynicism when congressional approval ratings house oversight committee in the 20th percentile range, after a grand total of two amendments and 12 hours and 32 minutes of debate on almost 2,000 pages of a document. consider that it has been more than a month when the finance committee completed its work on legislation, even as it concluded that work needed remained to be done.

even though there was greater consensus on some of the most critical and contentious matters in this debate. but that opportunity was regrettably forsaken. and, mr. president, i cannot support moving to a health care reform bill on a procedural motion designed to prevail not on policy grounds but on partisanship. because the result is that this procedural vote tomorrow presents a serious obstacle if you have substantial concerns about the legislation as a process going forward will likely require a threshold of 60 votes to add, change, or remove any major provision, including a public option plan that was not included in the final finance committee legislation. mr. president, i think we all appreciate the impetus of the public option and that is a fundamental ms. trust of the insurance industry and that's a sentiment i strongly their as -- share as many have been victimized of the regrejus practices of denying coverage because of preexisting

conditions, rescinding coverage because someone is sick, or denying based on one's gender. in my home state of maine that mistrust couldn't be more profound with two companies controlling 88% of the market resulted in not only the inconceivable increases in premiums as i described earlier, but forced thousands in my state to purchase plans with a remarkable $15,000 deductible for an individual and $30,000 for a family. and as i was one of our insurance companies, and one of the two in maine that dominate the market, it's become one of the most popular plans by virtue of its affordability, by virtue of the fact that it's all people can afford in the state of maine and certainly among small business owners. well, that is unconscionable, that is unacceptable when we think of their basic coverage ofening $15,000 deductible for an individual and $30,000 for a family. that is not what you would describe as reasonable coverage.

in response to that, i worked to implement principles on which [ car starting ] >> allen iverson! >> i'm so far different from the guys. i'm very brief. >> you look at allen. you say, hey, there's a free- spirit guy. >> iverson. >> allen's life is a dream come true. . >> where i go, i hear about it the next day, like anywhere! >> a think a big part of al is he doesn't try to appeal to anybody. he does what he does. >> i heard the legend of bubba chuck. >> one of the best that ever played basketball. >> what's up? i'm allen iverson and we're in here talking. this is my life, 365. when you talk about allen

iverson it's better to talk negative. ♪ >> i took the team and gave it back to the fans. >> i put it in back. catch him again. >> people that don't understand -- i guess -- they probably understand it but they try not to understand it because, you know, when you talk about allen iverson, it's better to talk about something negatively. more headlines and bold print like allen iverson having a dispute with a coach or missing practice -- that's the big headline. but i understand it. i accept it. a person has a perception of you -- that's what you're going to be and my whole thing is not trying to convince somebody i'm a good person, that i care.

i care about if people think a good guy -- i would be lying if i said i want everybody to think i am the devil. >> right. >> but i don't go out of my way to prove that i am. >> right. >> you know, a good person. >> being a role model is not something that -- you can choose. you're chosen. >> yeah. >> you're chosen to be that. what i hear you saying is that as you have grown, you have kind of realized that a little bit. >> i'm 33 -- i don't do the same things i did, you know, when i was 23. >> right. you would be a fool if you did. >> stone cold fool. i don't do those things no more. i still make mistakes. still human. i still look back on things that -- damn, i wish i didn't do it that way. i wish i did it another way. >> as it stand, allen iverson is a convicted man, required by law to be in jail. >> that time was very southwesting. you talk about time where it was a situation happening in a

bowling alley and you know allen with his friend. and that bowling alley situation there -- he had one of the biggest problems you could have. he had a problem -- a situation was a fight and now the fight -- it was a racial fight. >> i've seen young people convicted for crimes they have not commit over and over again. >> they charged allen. that was an count that -- 50 years ago. >> maiming by mob. >> back in the day, they had mentioned it went back and they looked at this maiming by mob. >> what us the climate like when allen gets sentenced to now he has to do jail time? what was the climate like in that time period?

>> tense. i mean, i don't know how else -- tense. the system and incarcerated this young, ambulance male. >> what was it like when you saw him walking out in handcuffs? >> one of the worst days in my life. i felt so betrayed. by our city government. that certified charges. against -- four young men who -- i fell, they knew were not guilty of what they had been charged with. >> never been in trouble. no priors. and he walks out with 15 years and had to serve five. and it just -- went away in

handcuffs. you would say it's over. at that time you would say no way. never come back from this. >> what was going on when you were in there? >> scary. that's -- that's what comes in my mind off the top when i think of that situation -- square where. not scared of another inmate or another man or any cos. scared of not having another opportunity to accomplish my goal. being a professional athlete. you know, i thought it was taken away from me and it was tough. just hoping for an opportunity -- i was in there for almost four months and for the first month, you know, my lawyers had me thinking i was going to come home every single day for a

month, like, tomorrow -- i think it will be the day. you're coming home. that day go by. then the next day -- and it went on for a month. >> how did doug wilder impact your life? >> [ sighs ] he kept me out of jail. he got me out of jail. state of clemency. that's important, too, because he still had that on the record. i think he looked at the case, you know, saw all the inconsistencies. the unfair treatment. and he made a decision based on what he felt was right. >> did he make you promise him anything when you get out? >> no. you know what? he did by letting me out. i felt that he fell that by

letting me out i would make the best of my situation. i'm pretty sure he knew what type of athlete i was and that i had a chance to do something positive with my god-given aibilityd. >> announcer: coming up -- >> this is an educational institution and religious institution. if education and religious john can't give a person another chance, whwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwh

>> describe your cause -- >> someone that actually saved my life. we wouldn't be in here doing

this interview if it weren't for john thompson. wouldn't be no all- star games. wouldn't be no millions of dollars. wouldn't be no nba finals, first team all- nba scoring titles. first pick. wouldn't have been -- none of that. >> explain how he saved your life. >> because he gave me an opportunity when everybody turned it back on me. >> how did allen get to georgetown? was it a recruiting process? >> what happened is that a committee of people from the area contacted me through boo williams and said they wanted to come up and talk to me about allen iverson. this i talked personally with some colleges at that time and big name coaches said, i cannot take him. because my president would not let him in. >> i was recruited by everybody. in the country. everybody. in both sports -- every single

school in the country. and football and basketball. when i got in my situation, in high school, it was over. nobody else -- every single school. every single school. stopped writing, stopped calls. only a couple colleges we could think of -- and it was more than colleges but people. you had john thompson and you had john cheney. you had to have somebody strong enough -- first of all, they will come after you, the media. >> they were worried about his well-being and, you know, really, his safety because when they came up to visit me, there was an interesting thing that happened. i was not showing as much interest, obviously, as she would have liked me -- mrs. iverson -- would have liked me to have shown and asked the other people to get out of the room.

they asked them would they leave. i would like to talk with coach. when they left, she said that, you know, they're gonna hurt my kid. i don't think she meant in the literal sense somebody would shoot or attack him in that matter but i think she meant it was her life saving thing she was trying to pursue for her son and was in tears. >> my mom came up here to d.c. and met with them and -- you know, after that, you know, i had another opportunity in life. i think god put him into my life. >> people deserve a chance, as long as they take advantage of it. that's one of the things i said to allen. i'm willing to go along with this but you've got to respond. i'm not going to compromise the school. i'm not going to compromise myself if you don't do the things you're supposed to do. >> mike, how much of a risk was

it for georgetown, given everything that allen had been through, to take allen? >> i remember thinking at the time, you know, it is a risk. yet, yet i know from talking to coach it wasn't as much of a risk as for some places. it wasn't as big a risk for a state system. private schools have the support. >> once your dad made a judgment -- this was a young man we were willing to give an opportunity to and to have a say in his development, we were prepare to take on that challenge. >> to see him sign at georgetown and go play basketball for coach thompson was one of the most happiest days of my life. because i knew then that he would be okay. >> what adjustment did you have

to make from a coaching standpoint, coaching someone like allen iverson? >> i had to consider his well- being a person, how he played as a basketball player. because allen is a guy who is so talented you got to give him the opportunity to express his ability. >> he put me in a position to be on the basketball court, you know, before then talk about georgetown being a big man at school and a guard, you know, playing in thatel is. i was successful in that system. so obviously he knew what he was doing. ♪ >> whoa! >> smooth! >> iverson, reverse lay-up. >> iverson has it. >> you're older now and obviously you still have a relationship. you done talk as much.

do you miss him? >> i feel like it's better when i don't talk to him because when i do, i miss him more and when i see him, i miss him that much more. because, you know, i know you know, but what people that see him from afar -- all they see is, from coaching basketball, is big john. big dude. he yelling and this, that, and the third. just him being so authentic, real, bill from a different cloth like telling you the way i is. >> sometimes what you say doesn't sound right. sometimes it doesn't fit into today's society because everybody in today's society are not going to be the first pick in the draft. they're not going to be a millionaire. so i couldn't afford to let him think that if he slacked back some that i was going to understand that.

>> he would talk -- straight face -- you up here. eating three times a day. you sleeping in your warm room. you got a light. warm water. >> your mom is down there in tidewater wondering where the next meal is coming from and where the heat bill coming from. >> they might not eat today. they don't have lights or warm water. >> this lady who loves you dearly is down there suffering a hell of a lot of hardships than you are so don't bring that [ bleep ] in here to me. >> you want to ruin your opportunity? you know, and right there i was -- you know, i was about bawling because it was reality. if you mess this situation up, after she came up here and she didn't come up here, you wouldn't be in this situation but you going toes me this opportunity up to be able to take care of them -- while you up here living it up

and not doing what you supposed to do -- it's like that. i can get myself right on that straight line. >> announcer: coming up -- >> i worked real hard to get here. contribute to coach thompson, my family and friend. without them i wouldn't be here.

>> the first pick in the 1996 nba pick, the philadelphia 76ers select allen iverson from georgetown university. >> i see how excited fans get all over the world. nothing like philly. that's what sports is about. when you think of sports, you think of philadelphia fans. all fans should be like philly fans. as far as their dedication and how they feel about their sport -- they love their sport and stick with their team till the end.

>> you coach two number one picks in the draft, two guys that were multiall- stars in that league. that has to make you proud. >> well, it makes me real proud because i think a lot of the thicks you do are segmented. you want people to graduate and be good students and decent human beings but successful in the profession they're in. >> the people that play in philadelphia should cherish that, man, and should really feel good about the sport they have. it's definitely thick in that gym. i had my ups and downs towards the end. i really think after all those years, you know, some of the ones that loved me to death were getting fed up with all the bull that was going on involving me, you know. i think some my fall. >> i have been through too

much to let somebody with a pen and paperer and a microphone and a camera kill me or dry allen iverson crazy. >> some people in the organization. >> if allen feels you know, he doesn't want to practice and wants to play, it just doesn't work any longer. >> i think the toughest thing for a black man to do is think before he reacts. think when he angry. that's what the whole practice thing came from. in here talking about practice. i mean, listen. we talking about practice. not a game. not a game. not a game. we talking about practice. instead of me, you know, calming down -- >> right. >> -- and before i do the press conference i will go in the press conference young and crazy and just rant. >> you reacted. >> react. and now it's so different. when i'm involve in a situation, i make sure that i

know they're coming for me and they will ask questions that will make me mad but it's about being intelligent enough and experienced enough to know how to handle the situation and do it the right way without making one story bigger because of how you reacted to, you know, the situation. >> announcer: coming up -- >> visit authenticness -- there's an authenticity about allen that really catches people.

>> allen iverson! >> getting traded is part of being in the nba. when you got traded, talk a

little bit about the transition and how that experience. >> i thought i would be a sixer for the rest of my career. and this is my -- you know, second stop after that. the first time it was rough. it was rough. just for the fact that my kids had been accustomed to being -- my two older kids -- had been accustomed to philly. that's all they ever knew. and this time it was even tougher. on me, it was tougher on my kids. after awhile, they had got accustomed to being in denver but for me as a player quick always look at it like, you know, the team that trades for you, they want you. >> right. >> no better feeling to have an organization that wants you. and 20,000 more fan that

embrace you. it was cool to leave but as far as my family, my kids, they struggled with it. my wife was cool with it. and after awhile, once my kids got better, i'm cool with it. >> the point guard position in basketball is a tough position. how has it been leaving point guard system and set of place you have to run in denver to now detroit? >> when i got here, i played point guard in the beginning. now that's going to change. a different situation. i'm usually having the ball and bringing it up in the fourth quarter and not so much the first, second, and third. it's just different. it's hard. you have to be accountable for everybody else. and two, two guards both score. that's something i know i can do. >> gives a great appreciation for the game and other that come before him and he is somebody i admire on the court and off the court.

as a player, man of heart. as teammate, you know, does what it takes to win. and as a person, you know, a good all- around cat, you know. most people would have got conceited but he a regular everyday cat. >> 15 year ago to when i met you now you never care what had people's perception are of you. did that hurt you you have not tried to mold people into thinking or believing you're a certain way? >> my friend, the fans that are real, true, live allen iverson fans take the time to analyze and understand and realize that i'm a human. i make mistakes. >> there's an authenticness, an authenticity, about allen that really catches people. it really attracts them. it's not, you know, a singular

appeal. it doesn't appear to one type of person. you can't just say, allen iverson appeals to the hip hop community. that's wrong. has people's tastes and sensibility change and tolerance changes, the appeal became this guy plays 100 miles per hour every night and brings joy although he is not smiling irvine johnson so there's an appeal at different levels and he became a pied piper. >> you have a scholarship program where you have endowments set up with colleges and also you have given over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the gun buyback program in newport news, virginia. people don't always want to know that aspect of allen iverson. >> i have a chance to make a difference. if i changed one life, i didding many. if i put somebody in school,

help themselves and their family and buying a gun back and get a gun off the street, $100,000, $100 a gun, you can get a lot off the streets. >> once he turned professional, okay, one things he wanted to give other kids was the mind set they could dream as well. that was the first thing and the first celebrity that we did. it was very easy for us to come up with our slogan -- developing the dreams of tomorrow. i know allen wanted kids to think more. when you hear him talk about young people, when you hear him talk about kids, who wants to be the next allen iverson -- he want them to be better than allen iverson. >> just for the fact i'm able to do that, you know, for

somebody else, and there's a big thing for me. i don't need a write up in the paper or anything. just a thank you from them or not even that -- just knowing they appreciate because it's helping them. >> it make you feel damn good. you sit and say, uh-huh. look at that rebound and him run that court. look at allen drop 40 on them suckers. >> i just carry it out to the fullest. >> practice? what? [ laughter ] we talking about practice? >> when you saw isaiah take 80 stitches from the head from karl malone and he played next week, you knew. >> you have to look at somebody in your family and the mistakes they made -- look at the mistake you made in your life

and look in the mirror and say, and look in the mirror and say, well, why judge and look in the mirror and say, well, why judge [vibrates] g morning, sunshine. wakey, wakey. text me back. [chattering] [vibrates] hey. did you tell your parents about us? let's skip first period together. did you get all my texts? is practice over yet? where you at? are you with your friends? that's laaaa-mee. capital "x," lower-case "o," capital "x," lower-case "o," i love you. jk. i hate you. jk. are you ignoring me? we're in a huge fight right now. is it something i did? i can see your lights on. i'm coming over. this isn't a joke. what did you dream about? [overlapping] is it me? i'm lonely. holla back. holla back. let's try something new. nude pics. send me some. text me.