Press Releases
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) introduced three bills to increase transparency in Washington and protect taxpayers from unethical use of their tax dollars. The Ruiz Ethics Package includes the Public Service Transparency Act, the Coach-Only Airfare for Capitol Hill (COACH) Act, and the Campaign Spending Integrity Act. The fourth bill included in the package, the Public Service Spending Transparency Act, passed the House as part H.R. 1, the For The People Act, earlier this year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2740, an appropriations bill that supports a federal agreement committing $30 million to projects addressing the environmental and public health crisis at the Salton Sea. The bill also included Dr. Ruiz's amendment directing the Bureau of Reclamation to dedicate an additional $2 million to projects that mitigate the Sea's decline.
Washington, D.C. – This week, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) introduced the GROW American Jobs Act of 2019. This legislation will authorize the SelectUSA initiative at the Department of Commerce, which helps facilitate global investment in the United States. More than 7 million jobs in the United States are directly supported by foreign direct investment.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representatives Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA), Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Van Taylor (R-TX), Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN), Donna Shalala (D-FL), and Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M. (R-OH) released an outline of the bipartisan Protecting People from Surprise Medical Bills Act, forthcoming legislation that will protect patients from unfair and expensive surprise medical bills. The finalized legislation is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging the Department to address widespread delays in the administration of benefits to the families of fallen police officers. As of April 2019, hundreds of families across the nation have yet to receive benefits for their death, disability, or education claims through the Public Safety Officers' Benefit (PSOB) Program.
Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) and the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) announced a $1.1 million federal grant that will expand childcare and early childhood education services for children of farmworkers in the Coachella Valley. The grant will help the RCOE's Migrant Head Start Program serve an additional 50 children zero to four years old served by our local migrant education program.
Washington, D.C. – With a growing number of Americans aging into Medicare, Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), and Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced bipartisan legislation to simplify complex Medicare enrollment rules. The Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act would eliminate needless gaps in health care coverage and help prevent lifetime late-enrollment penalties.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to devote federal funding to help local communities recover from the Valentine's Day flood. The letter comes after Governor Gavin Newsom sent a letter to President Trump over the weekend requesting a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for communities across California impacted by February's flooding.
Washington D.C.— This week, Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced the Veterans Conservation Corps Act, bipartisan legislation to connect veterans with employment opportunities in public lands maintenance.
This bill provides transitional assistance for veterans through employment opportunities in conservation, resource management, firefighting, law enforcement, or historic preservation. The initiative has been widely praised by veteran and environmental advocates, as well as nonprofit and state-run conservation corps.
Today, Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) helped pass H.R. 2030, the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act, a bill that includes language Dr. Ruiz advocated for to preserve environmental regulations critical to protecting the Salton Sea. The bill passed the House unanimously and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.