Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat representing Rhode Island since 2007, is once again facing an ethics probe due to allegations of "backing" legislation that helped his wife's environmental nonprofit, Ocean Conservancy. Allegations suggest that his backing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) unethically benefited his wife's work.

Ocean Conservancy, a non-profit whose main focus is marine debris removal, is where Sandra Whitehouse has been both an employee or consultant since 2008. At issue is the more than $14.2 million in federal grants they have received. It is reported that during 2024 alone, the organization was given $5.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for marine debris clean up efforts and another for $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - also to assist with marine debris cleanup.

What about the bills Whitehouse personally authored and championed? In 2018, in what he saw as a critical first step in addressing ocean debris, Whitehouse introduced and passed the Save Our Seas Act (SOS). This act reauthorized the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Marine Debris Program. The program addresses the impacts of marine debris in our ocean, waterways, and Great Lakes. Organizations like Ocean Conservancy, publicly hailed its passage as "the tip of the spear" in the fight against marine debris.

It was the second bill, Save Our Seas 2.0 (The Marine Debris Act) in 2020 that things got interesting. SOS 2.0 was a much more ambitious bill. One that was built on the foundation of the original. And this was not just a bill that Whitehouse backed. He was the author and legislative architect that facilitated the bill's passage.

As Senate Budget Committee Chair, Whitehouse shaped fiscal priorities. He gave multiple "Time To Wake Up Speeches" leading up to the vote. In press (e.g., a 2020 Providence Journal op-ed), he highlighted marine debris as an existential issue that must be addressed. SOS 2.0 had three titles that centered on domestic programs to address marine debris, international engagement to combat marine debris, and domestic infrastructure to prevent marine debris.

But the cornerstone of SOS 2.0 was the creation of The Marine Debris Foundation. This bill mandated the creation of a nonprofit designed to harness a private, sustainable funding mechanism that would outlast temporary appropriations- and channel it into permanent grants for organizations tackling marine debris; organizations like Ocean Conservancy.

Housed under the Department of Commerce, The Marine Debris Foundation, and its board, work directly with NOAA in offering grants to ocean cleanup organizations. After the bill's passage, NOAA appointed Ocean Conservancy Vice President of Conservation, Nicholas Mallos, to its board. Mallos' appointment only tightens the knots of concern surrounding the ethical questions facing Whitehouse, his wife, and Ocean Conservancy.

'Whitehouse says freeing up capital can be a "really powerful" way to allow banks to direct more credit to green projects.'

With the recent inquiries into his daughter's work as founder and managing partner at Newmarket Capital, an asset group that offers, "solutions that emphasize environmental and social themes, such as the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency" - questions are mounting. One thing is clear, the Whitehouse camp dismissing calls for an investigation as attempts by "dark money groups" does not look to be minimizing the validity of ethics concerns this time.