Conversation with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Across the nation, the Hispanic and Latino population has grown 23% in the last decade, and five SoCal counties are now home to the state's largest Hispanic and Latino communities. President Joe Biden recently announced his support of building the National Museum of the American Latino on the National Mall, a top priority of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

On this week's "In Focus SoCal," Tanya McRae sits down with Dr. Raul Ruiz, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, along with two other members, Rep. Linda Sánchez and Rep. Pete Aguilar, for a roundtable to discuss their top priorities.

Ruiz, who represents California's 36th Congressional District, discusses the MOBILE Health Care Act, which he co-authored with Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada. The House recently passed the legislation, which would increase access to quality and affordable care in rural and underserved areas.

"Most of our community members in medically underserved areas get their health care in federal qualified health centers or community health centers," Ruiz said. "That's where I got my passion for serving the community, as a physician in a farmworker clinic, because my parents were farmworkers."

Sánchez​, who represents the 38th Congressional District, is an advocate for expanding access to higher education and making it affordable. She shared her experience with being the first in her family to attend college.

"I took out student loans in order to go to law school, and if I had not had these available to me, I would not be sitting where I am today as a member of the United States Congress," Sánchez said. "It was everything."

Also on the roundtable, the Congress members share their thoughts on what more needs to be done to resolve California's homelessness crisis.

"We can support affordable housing and we can look at tax credits for construction and building affordable housing," said Aguilar, who represents California's 31st District.