ms. johnson, for five minutes. ms. johnson: thank you very much, mr. speaker. today i would like to emphasize the importance of the federal government's role in investment and research and development, r&d, and science technology engineering and mathematics, stem education, in stimulating growth, creating new industries and jobs, and delivering long-term benefits to our citizens. as a member of the house committee on science, space, and technology, and now as ranking member, i have had the privilege of hearing countless witnesses from industry, academia, and government. over the past several years testify that investments in r&d are essential to keeping america competitive in a challenging international marketplace. in fact, according to a paper by the national bureau of economic research, changes in technology are the only source of permanent increases in productivity. if we are to reverse the trend of the last 20 years, where our country's technology is in the world has diminished, we must make the investments necessary today. the statistics speak for themsel

ms. johnson: thank you. i don't know that i have a better friend in this body than ralph hall and our relationship goes all the way back to the texas legislature. when i first went to the texas house back in 1972. he was a part of the senate. and i still have a little penny that is encircled in a little silver band that says, ralph hall of rockwall. and i've always kept it as something special. because is he a very special person to me. when he switched parties and -- in 2004, and i've said this before, i tried to call him several times and i didn't get a response. so i finally said, just, i'm going to leave this message. tell him i still love him. and 30 seconds he called me back. and i really meant that. i meant it then, i mean it now. because party has never been anything that separated friendship and he's a perfect example of that. his sense of humor has been so useful on the committee that often it's used to make witnesses more comfortable or to break some of the partisan bickering. . he is unique in th

ms. johnson. there's no one on our side. i have a couple of questions. incidentally, mr. boardman, it's a pleasure to see you. >> thank you. >> knowing that you're from rome and knowing that you went to binghamton university which i now have the pleasure of representing. >> thank you for your election. >> thank you. it's a mixed bag but thank you. mr. alves, you mentioned that in a long-term plan there are benchmarks -- to paraphrase what you said -- to require accountability if they're not met. what does that mean in the real world? >> well, actually what i was saying is that it's not so much that the plan has the benchmarks and accountability. it's that this entire process, starting with the plan, should lead to that. we're not there yet. the company is not at a place where people are being appropriately held accountable to valid metrics. >> accountability in the public sector is difficult to require. it's difficult to understand, to pin down. since there's not a profit motive and there's not necessarily stockholders, has mo vested interest in outcomes other than doing

ms. johnson? >> [inaudible] >> in october of 2005, there was a report issued to the then chairman about the lack of a strategic plan. the report identified that without a comprehensive corporate mission, amtrak's business practices were lacking and could not ensure consistent and improved corporate performance. in august of 2010, they set forth a strategic planning process. and the basis for the 2011 plan -- through 2013. finally, there appears to be a significant performance and accountability improvement. thank you, and i yield back. the president and ceo of amtrak and mr. joseph boardman, thank you. you are now recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman, mr. elijah cummings, joyce, i will be on your board until the questions will come from me for the future of us. i am glad you are there. you bring energy to a very important problem of safety for railroads, and i appreciate the work you have done here. angela was sitting in the corner, mr. chairman is the one who wrote that article and i have winte

ms. johnson. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman and ranking member, my remarks are very brief. in october 2005, they issued a report to then chairman young concerning amtrak's lack of a strategic plan and the report identified that without a comprehensive -- amtrak's business practices were lacking and could not ensure consistent and improved corporate deployment. in august 2010, the amtrak inspector general's office released an evaluation report of amtrak's strategic planning and said the key elements necessary brought effective strategic process. the igs report formed the basis for amtrak's november 2011 strategic plan for fiscal year 2011 and 2015. while the reorganization is not yet fully complete, there appears to be significant performance and accountability improvements and i look forward to the testimony. it seems to me that they are doing exactly as we have desired. thank you an ideal back. >> i think the gentlelady. do others seek recognition? if not what we will do now is turn to our three witnesses and we welcome them again. our first witness and i will recognize hi

johnson. they're calling it neighborhood guard, watchful residents and surveillance cameras. help is needed statistics show burglaries up 26%. there has been more than 4300 break mscompared to about 3400 at this time last year. the statistics show a many% spike in car break ins about 5700 this year compared to 3 to00 in late november, 2011. abc 7 joins us from oakland with how this effort works. nick? >> good evening. neighborhood watch is nothing new. but neighborhood7Ñys guard uses high tech cameras to capture images and tore thom aá#c cloud-based server. if a crime happens in the neighborhood the image is grab, point, click, send to authorities. >> neighbor just couple