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Many House and Senate Members questioned NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe during the four-hour joint hearing. As the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, headed by retired Navy Admiral Hal Gehman, has just begun its work, the primary focus of the hearing was not on the cause of the Columbia accident. Instead, many of the questions addressed the composition and independence of the Accident Investigation Board. "I've become convinced" that the Board's charter must be rewritten, Boehlert stated, expressing a concern that was echoed by other Members throughout the hearing. "The words of the charter simply do not guarantee the independence and latitude that both the Administrator and the Admiral have sincerely promised." O'Keefe explained that a description of the investigation panel had been written into the accident contingency plan developed by NASA following the Challenger incident, but he expressed willingness to modify the Board's charter and responsibilities to mollify Members' concerns about its objectivity. "You have our assurance that this distinguished Board will be able to act with genuine independence," he declared. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) asked whether there was an independent scientist on the panel to provide "that Feynman voice" - a reference to the role played by physicist Richard Feynman during the Challenger accident probe. O'Keefe replied that Gehman was considering several scientists for addition to the Board.