The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Prediction held a hearing on the lifesaving role of accurate hurricane prediction. Chairman Senator DeMint requested that Senate Chaplain Admiral Barry Black open the hearing with a prayer for the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Following the prayer, hurricane prediction experts testified about the prediction of Hurricane Katrina and the work of the National Hurricane Center. The hearing was held inside room 562 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building.