Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter of California is known for holding corporations and their executives accountable, particularly when probing them during committee hearings.
She often uses a white dry erase board to draw visuals illustrating the extent of corporate greed, but in a recent House committee hearing featuring the testimony of big oil executives, Porter utilized a different method of visualization: rice.
Porter pressed American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers on the amount of public land leased by fossil fuel companies.
Watch below
Porter asked:
"Mr. Summers there are 7,700 permits unused. How many acres of public land are already leased by fossil fuel companies and not even used yet, just available for drilling whenever you decide?"
When Summers attempted to evade the question, the Congresswoman said:
"Reclaiming my time. The answer is 13.9 million acres. To visualize how much land that is, if each grain of rice were one acre, that would be 479 pounds of rice."
Porter, who was appearing at the hearing virtually from her garage, then opened her car's trunk to reveal around 479 pounds of rice.
She continued:
"The American Petroleum Institute even opposed pausing more leasing on our lands and even sued to stop it, cause apparently this acreage wasn't enough."
People cheered for the Congresswoman's latest line of questioning.
They especially enjoyed watching fossil fuel executives squirm.
A viral moment, indeed.
