{"id":2008042,"date":"2023-08-22T12:17:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T16:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-energy-whitehouse-pushes-legislation-that-helps-wifes-climate-change-firm\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T12:19:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T16:19:59","slug":"green-energy-whitehouse-pushes-legislation-that-helps-wifes-climate-change-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-energy-whitehouse-pushes-legislation-that-helps-wifes-climate-change-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitehouse promotes legislation supporting spouse&#8217;s climate change firm."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgreen-energy-whitehouse-pushes-legislation-that-helps-wifes-climate-change-firm%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008042&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<h2>Sen. Sheldon\u2062 Whitehouse (D., R.I.) (Getty\u200d Images)<\/h2>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) has introduced\u200b several bills that could provide a windfall\u200b for a firm that employs his wife, raising \u2063potential conflict of interest concerns for \u2062the \u200bliberal Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse&#8217;s wife, Sandra Whitehouse, has since 2022 served as ocean \u2064policy adviser \u2064for\u200c Running Tide Technology, \u2062a startup that\u200b works to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-kerry-implies-net-zero-emissions-goal-not-good-enough-says-we-need-to-get-carbon-dioxide-out-of-the-atmosphere\/\" title=\"John Kerry Implies Net-Zero Emissions Goal Not Good Enough, Says We Need To \u2018Get Carbon Dioxide Out Of The Atmosphere\u2019\">remove carbon dioxide<\/a> from the ocean. Whitehouse, who serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and chairs the Senate Budget Committee, \u2062has introduced legislation that would\u200d steer \u200dtaxpayer funds \u2062to companies \u2062in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-energy-whitehouse-pushes-legislation-that-helps-wifes-climate-change-firm\/\" title=\"Whitehouse promotes legislation supporting spouse's climate change firm.\">carbon dioxide removal industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra Whitehouse&#8217;s work \u2063for Running\u2064 Tide\u2063 could open her \u200chusband to the same \u2062kinds of criticisms\u2064 he \u2064has levied \u200bagainst Republicans. The senator has proposed a \u200bbill to \u200cbeef up transparency \u2063for Supreme Court justices and attacked \u200dGinni Thomas, the wife \u2062of Supreme Court justice \u200dClarence Thomas, over her consulting work. Whitehouse cited \u2062Ginni \u200bThomas&#8217;s text messages regarding\u2064 the\u2063 2020\u2064 election in\u2062 calling for &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dimwitted-congresswoman-aoc-the-5th-house-democrat-to-call-for-clarence-thomas-resignation-or-impeachment\/\" title=\"Dimwitted Congresswoman AOC the 5th House Democrat to Call for Clarence Thomas\u2019 Resignation or Impeachment\">significant ethics reform<\/a> \u200dat the Supreme Court.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems,\u2064 Livelihoods, and Local Seafood Act, which Whitehouse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.senate.gov\/news\/release\/whitehouse-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-support-aquaculture-farmers-and-harvesters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">introduced<\/a> \u2063 in June,\u2064 would \u2062form an office for &#8220;aquaculture&#8221; in the U.S.\u2063 Department of Agriculture in order to bolster \u200cseaweed farmers and &#8220;promote blue \u200bcarbon ecosystems.&#8221; Running Tide \u200cuses kelp,\u200d a type of seaweed, to capture \u200ccarbon dioxide in the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Whitehouse \u2064and Senator Chris Coons (D., Del.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coons.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/federal_carbon_dioxide_removal_leadership_act_bill_text.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">introduced<\/a> the Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal \u2064Leadership Act, \u2063which\u2064 would provide subsidies\u200c to companies\u200c that capture \u2063carbon\u200c dioxide from the air or\u2064 seawater. Whitehouse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TZiNtz3kYcc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the\u2064 bill calls \u200dfor $3.5 billion in funds from \u2062the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law \u200cto &#8220;boost investment, create\u200b jobs, and help make the U.S.\u200c a \u2063global leader in the\u200c technology of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/microsoft-president-brad-smith-compares-climate-tech-development-to-jfks-race-to-the-moon\/\" title=\"Microsoft President Brad Smith Compares Climate Tech Development to JFK's Race to the Moon\">carbon removal<\/a>.&#8221; Sandra Whitehouse touted Running Tide&#8217;s technology \u2064at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sPD-cwc-E64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an event<\/a> last \u200bmonth \u2063to promote \u200cthe \u200bMassachusetts Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act,\u2062 a bill\u2063 modeled\u2063 on the\u2062 federal\u200b legislation \u2063her husband\u2062 proposed last year.<\/p>\n<p>Running Tide has \u200blobbied extensively over the \u2064past two years, <a href=\"https:\/\/lda.senate.gov\/filings\/public\/filing\/search\/?registrant=&#038;registrant_country=&#038;registrant_ppb_country=&#038;client=running+tide&#038;client_state=&#038;client_country=&#038;client_ppb_country=&#038;lobbyist=&#038;lobbyist_covered_position=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_disclosure=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_date_range_from=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_date_range_to=&#038;report_period=&#038;report_year=&#038;report_dt_posted_from=&#038;report_dt_posted_to=&#038;report_amount_reported_min=&#038;report_amount_reported_max=&#038;report_filing_uuid=&#038;report_house_doc_id=&#038;report_issue_area_description=&#038;affiliated_organization=&#038;affiliated_organization_country=&#038;foreign_entity=&#038;foreign_entity_country=&#038;foreign_entity_ppb_country=&#038;foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_min=&#038;foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_max=&#038;search=search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spending<\/a> $300,000 on\u2063 &#8220;issues related \u200bto carbon sequestration\u200b using deep water kelp,&#8221; according to lobbying disclosures. The\u2063 company&#8217;s CEO,\u200d Marty \u2062Odlin, \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TxlKXxOdPRM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called on<\/a> Congress \u2063and the executive branch earlier this year to &#8220;mandate&#8221; more spending\u200d on technologies \u2064to retrieve carbon dioxide from the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse has faced \u200bscrutiny \u2062before over \u200chis wife&#8217;s work at \u2062two nonprofit groups that work \u2062on \u2064causes related to the \u200docean. The organizations have\u200b paid Sandra Whitehouse more than\u2064 $3.1 million\u200b since 2008, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/sheldon-whitehouse\/#sandra-whitehouse-consulting-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to \u2062Capital Research Center&#8217;s InfluenceWatch<\/a>. Whitehouse has introduced more than two dozen pieces of legislation related to the ocean, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/05\/01\/sheldon-whitehouse-wife-ocean-consulting-conflict-interest-supreme-court-spouses-ethics-judiciary-dems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Walter, the\u200c president \u200cof Capital Research Center, said Sandra Whitehouse&#8217;s work for Running Tide\u200c could pose additional concerns about transparency\u2064 because Running Tide will not have to \u200cdisclose how much it pays the\u2064 senator&#8217;s wife.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Outside \u200binvestigators\u2063 have unearthed millions of dollars to Sen. Whitehouse&#8217;s wife \u2062from nonprofits,\u200b so it&#8217;s\u200b no \u2063surprise she also \u200dreceives money \u2064from for-profits,\u2064 whose\u200c cash \u2062stays much further \u2063in the dark,&#8221;\u200b Walter told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Whitehouse\u200c disclosed that his wife\u2062 received \u200bmore than \u200b$1,000\u200c from Running Tide, but did not state the\u200c full amount of \u200dher income.<\/p>\n<p>Running \u200dTide, which recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.runningtide.com\/blog-post\/running-tide-becomes-microsofts-first-open-ocean-based-carbon-removal-supplier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> a deal with Microsoft to remove 12,000\u200c tons of\u2062 carbon \u2062dioxide from the ocean, has\u2064 faced skepticism in\u200c the industry \u2064over concerns that its methods\u200d will \u2063disrupt the ocean&#8217;s delicate ecosystem.\u2064 Some\u200c scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2022\/06\/16\/1053758\/running-tide-seaweed-kelp-scientist-departures-ecological-concerns-climate-carbon-removal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reportedly<\/a> quit \u2062the company over concerns that executives were not doing enough to\u2062 mitigate the environmental costs of its technology.<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse&#8217;s office and Running Tide did not\u200c respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) has introduced bills that may benefit his wife&#8217;s employer, Running Tide Technology. This raises conflict of interest concerns for the liberal Democrat. Sandra Whitehouse, his wife, has been an ocean policy adviser for the startup since 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":2008043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}