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
This is certainly one of the more amazing visual aids presented during a Congressional hearing that I've ever seen.pic.twitter.com/6aKKAvZtX6— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1635445955
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.
Congresswoman Katie Porter is incredible.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Charles Booker (@Charles Booker) 1635452427
Congressman Katie Porter elevated the assignmenthttps://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Michele Norris (@Michele Norris) 1635505656
Christ she is so good.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— jess mcintosh (@jess mcintosh) 1635446408
THIS IS ARTpic.twitter.com/lXJlh6mGMB— Ana Rezende (@Ana Rezende) 1635458477
Nobody congresses better than @RepKatiePorter pic.twitter.com/RUDDeKfZud— Fullyvaxxdd \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\ude37 (@Fullyvaxxdd \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\ude37) 1635470435
that man said \u201ci think you have a fundamental misunderstanding-\u201d and katie porter\u2019s minivan said BEEP BEEP BEEP MFER OPEN SESAME LOOK HERE AT ALL THIS RICE and i diedhttps://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— blanket (@blanket) 1635464722
DAMN. Bringing down the hammer!https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Repugnican Peach Thief \ud83c\udf51\ud83c\udf39 (@Repugnican Peach Thief \ud83c\udf51\ud83c\udf39) 1635453678
They especially enjoyed watching fossil fuel executives squirm.
They all looked horrified. https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Jan Shark \ud83d\ude37 (@Jan Shark \ud83d\ude37) 1635456330
I've never seen a woman murder a half dozen oil execs with a trunk full of rice before.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Grey Knight (@Grey Knight) 1635477602
Whenever @RepKatiePorter is trending I grab the popcorn. Damn! Was she a teacher before Congress \u2018cause she sure did school those oil execs.https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1453791824900984833\u00a0\u2026— Marie Corfield (@Marie Corfield) 1635465456
A viral moment, indeed.
