Dr. Ruiz Announces Nearly $21M Investment to Bolster Local Infrastructure, Improve Health Access, & Strengthen Economy 

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) announced a nearly $21 million investment in Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bills for projects throughout the 36^th District. The funding will benefit 14 projects that will upgrade local roads, improve water infrastructure, and expand access to health care, child care, and workforce opportunities for residents. Once signed into law, projects that will receive funding will improve clean water access in the Eastern Coachella Valley; address the local child care provider shortage; and help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Congress will consider the legislation in the coming months.

"This nearly $21 million investment for our communities in this year's funding packages will bring incredible value to our region," said Dr. Ruiz. "From strengthening clean water access in Hemet and the East Valley to building new bridges in Desert Hot Springs to creating local workforce training and job opportunities, each of the projects I advocated for will make a positive difference in the lives of the families I serve. I look forward to passing this legislation through the House in the coming weeks to strengthen our infrastructure and boost our local economy."

"The current Morongo Fire Station is more than 30 years old and no longer fully serves the needs of the tribe and the surrounding communities," said Chairman Charles Martin, Morongo Band of Mission Indians. "The new state-of-the-art fire station will improve average response times by more than 3 minutes, include bunk space for our firefighters on overnight shifts, and will enable us to better serve both the Tribe and the surrounding community. I want to sincerely thank Congressman Ruiz for supporting and championing this Community Project – it will make a real difference for both our Tribe and all communities in the Pass."

"IID is pleased to work with Congressman Ruiz on this important energy infrastructure improvement project that will benefit thousands of customers in the communities of Mecca and North Shore in the Coachella Valley," said James C. Hanks, President, Imperial Irrigation District (IID)Board of Directors. "Improving the resiliency of our energy grid in those communities has been a priority for IID and with the Congressman's support, we are now closer to receiving much needed federal funds to proceed with the construction of this project."

"The Hemet Public Works Department has identified over $100 million of capital improvement projects through 2027. Thanks to Congressman Ruiz's leadership and advocacy, water delivery to over 30,000 Hemet customers will remain uninterrupted," said City of Hemet Public Works Director Noah Rau. "Our ultimate goal has been met here, and that is regional partnership for the betterment of Riverside County communities. The City of Hemet is incredibly grateful for the representation Congressman Ruiz is providing for us at the Capitol, and we remain committed to working with his office to bring the concerns of Hemet constituents to the State."

"We appreciate Congressman Ruiz's leadership in helping us secure federal funding to support the communities of the Eastern Coachella Valley," said CVWD Board Vice President Cástulo R. Estrada. "Coachella Valley Water District has a master plan which aims to bring much needed water infrastructure to the region. This funding helps us move identified projects forward and supports CVWD's thorough commitment to provide high quality water and reliable water supply to the ECV. This project will directly benefit our historically underserved communities, whose water is continuously affected by water availability and quality. We thank Congressman Ruiz for his support and collaboration, together, CVWD will be able to ensure water supply and quality improvement to the Eastern Coachella Valley."

"San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital (SGMH) is honored to be included in the federal Community Project Funding program being facilitated by Congressman Raul Ruiz. This funding will allow the hospital to purchase needed diagnostic imaging equipment to better serve our community," said Steve Barron, CEO of San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital. "As the only acute-care hospital in the San Gorgonio pass area, SGMH's commitment to providing state-of-the-art diagnostic tools for our healthcare providers is always our priority. Receiving this funding will enhance our ability to continue with this goal. We appreciate Congressman Ruiz joining us in providing high-quality and personalized healthcare services to our community."

"Partnering to increase access to healthcare, Congressman Ruiz and DAP Health are removing barriers to primary care, behavioral health and dentistry regardless of insurance or ability to pay through the physical expansion of DAP Health," said David Brinkman, CEO, DAP Health, Palm Springs and Indio, CA.

"The Riverside County Office of Education is enthusiastic and prepared to address the severe early education workforce and program shortages in the Coachella Valley and surrounding desert communities through our Riverside County Early Education Workforce Expansion, Equity, and Engagement (E3) project," Dr. Edwin Gomez, Superintendent of Schools for the Riverside County Office of Education. "The E3 project, funded through the CA36 Congressional Community Partnership Grant, will build workforce capacity and increase services for children and families in the desert communities of Riverside County."

"This is great news for the City of Indio. We are grateful to our agency partners and to Rep. Ruiz for helping advance this project and continuing to work to ensure this funding is secured," said Indio Mayor Waymond Fermon. "The I-10/Monroe Street interchange represents an important step in our City's commitment to improving traffic flow, accommodating anticipated growth and building for the future."

"We are grateful to Congressman Ruiz for his help securing resources for critical mental health services in the Coachella Valley," said Dr. Matthew Chang, Behavioral Health Director of Riverside University Health System. "Congressman Ruiz's efforts in securing funds for the Coachella Recovery Village will help connect those in need with vital behavioral health, substance use services, and housing."

BACKGROUND

For the FY23 appropriations cycle, Chair Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) announced that each Member of Congress could submit local community projects for potential funding. The following 14 projects were included in the FY23 Appropriations bills at Dr. Ruiz's request:

FY23 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies

Morongo Band of Mission Indians – Fire Station

$1 million for the construction of a new fire station on the Morongo Indian Reservation. The project includes the construction of a building to house fire engines and a second firehouse equipped with office space, sleeping quarters, and kitchen space. The current Morongo Fire Station is more than 30 years old and is not properly equipped to support its current staff. The new fire station would bring the Morongo Fire Department into compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards and improve emergency response times by as much as 3.5 minutes.

FY23 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies

Imperial Irrigation District – Mecca and North Shore Energy Infrastructure Resiliency Project

$2.4 million to reduce energy service interruption resulting from outages often caused by extreme weather events such as high winds and rainstorms. The project will expand grid resiliency and community confidence after recent recurring outages have caused hardship to residents.

FY23 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

City of Hemet – Water Main Replacement

$1.5 million to replace an aging transmission line from Park Hill's tank site to the City's distribution system. The existing transmission line is experiencing failures due to deterring pipe material. This would ensure the city's capability to deliver safe, potable, and reliable water from the water tanks to the distribution system. Having a reliable water delivery system is crucial for fire prevention for the community that the City of Hemet's water utility serves.

Coachella Valley Water District – Valley View Mobile Home Park Water Consolidation Project

$3.5 million to install new water mains along Airport Blvd, Filmore Street, Avenue 55, and Desert Cactus Drive to consolidate nine small water systems into Coachella Valley Water District potable water system: Luciano Valenzuela, Vista Norte Estates, Valley View MHP, Desert View MHP, Magdaleno Lopez, Campos MHP, Meza's Ranch, De Leon Ranch, and Soto Water. These nine systems will have a total of 135 connections, which will serve approximately 675 residents within disadvantaged communities. These small water systems are currently using private wells that have reported Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for arsenic and/or fluoride in their drinking water leading to poor water supply reliability. This project would go directly towards getting disadvantaged communities access to safe, and reliable drinking water.

FY23 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies

San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital (Banning, CA) – Equipment Purchase

$452,000 to purchase much-needed updated equipment, including a portable X-Ray Unit and a mobile C-arm Fluoroscopy unit to provide imaging services in the operating room. The hospital's current X-Ray Unit is no longer produced or supported by the manufacturer and is technologically incapable of meeting the needs of the hospital to care for its patients. Additionally, the hospital's current C-arm has difficulty sending cases with a large number of images and sends them slowly. The hospital provides the only Emergency Department in the Pass area with the next closest facility being 35 minutes to an hour away depending on traffic and must maintain and improve its capabilities to provide safe efficient care.

DAP Health (Palm Springs, CA) – Campus Expansion

$2 million for DAP Health's campus expansion project, which will expand service delivery and increase capacity for patient and client growth in medical, behavioral, and dental healthcare, substance use disorder care, sexual wellness care, and supportive social services. The increased capacity will directly benefit residents of Riverside County and in particular, residents of Coachella Valley.

Torres-Martinez Desert Tribe (Thermal, CA) – Workforce Development, Job-Training Program, and Apprenticeship Program

$250,000 to help complete the Torres-Martinez Manufacturing and Fabrication Career Development and Job-Training Facility for the implementation of the Torres-Martinez Native American Workforce Development, Job-Training and Apprenticeship Program. The program is projected to be the premier job creation, career placement, and workforce development program for low-income residents and Native Americans in the surrounding Coachella Valley area; and is predicted to generate substantial economic growth in an economically depressed Southeastern Region of California.

Riverside County Office of Education – Workforce Expansion, Equity, and Engagement Project

$1.4 million to increase and expand the early education workforce pipeline to address the shortage of child care providers in Riverside County. The Riverside County Early Education Workforce Project will use this funding to increase its workforce by adding 115 licensed child care providers to the early education workforce, including 1 new licensed child care center/facility, providing at least 1,000 additional licensed child care slots in District CA-36, and provide professional development, resources, and ongoing support for 765 family child care home providers and the 815 child care center staff.

Riverside University Health System –Coachella Recovery Village

$2 million to increase infrastructure capacity, including crisis, residential, and outpatient services for mental health, primary care, and substance use disorder in homelike settings as well as housing the homeless population. In addition to housing and treatment, the Coachella Recovery Village will provide vocational classrooms, a library, an animal kennel, and green park space for individuals completing treatment but with a continuing need for a supportive environment based on social determinants of health.

FY23 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

City of Indio – Interstate 10 and Monroe Street Interchange

$1.5 million for the Interstate 10 (I-10) and Monroe Street Interchange Project to reconstruct and widen the Monroe Street interchange on the I-10 freeway. The project would reconstruct and widen the freeway on- and off-ramps at the I-10/Monroe Street Interchange and replace the Monroe Street overcrossing of I-10 and the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel on the Whitewater River to accommodate additional through lanes, turn lanes, and connections to the Coachella Valley Link—a 50-mile planned mixed-use/recreational trail project that crosses and connects eight cities in the Coachella Valley with alternative forms of transportation and recreation.

City of Desert Hot Springs –Bridges Over Water Project

$2.5 million to construct two new bridges over low water crossings. These two bridges would be along Indian Canyon Drive. These two bridges would help mitigate the flooding, blow sand hazards, and prevent road closures during and after rain events. The proposed bridges will also help maintain accessibility within and out of the City for drivers and pedestrians, including the ability to access hospitals, schools, pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, and residences.

SAC Health (Blythe, CA) – Bus Station

$150,000 to build an all-weather bus bench/shelter and pave the parking lot in front of their new SAC Health Blythe location. At the request of the Inland Empire's managed Medi-Cal plan, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), SAC Health opened a Federally Qualified Health Center site in Blythe to serve the expansion due to the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative. This funding would allow individuals to safely access SAC Health through both public and private transportation.

Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians – Dillon Road Corridor

$2.7 million to reconstruct and widen a principal arterial roadway through Tribal lands in Riverside County. Specifically, funds will be used for the design and construction of a 0.7-mile corridor to widen a two-lane road to six driving lanes with bicycle and low-speed electric vehicle lanes in each direction. This will ultimately accommodate future growth from Cabazon Road to the north of the Interstate 10 (I-10) freeway.

SunLine Transit (Thousand Palms) – Public Fueling Station

$2.5 million to upgrade its 350-bar hydrogen public station to include a 700-bar fueling capability for light (personal vehicles) and heavy-duty (truck) vehicles effectively helping to transition the station to dispense hydrogen. The system would consist of the main skid, dispenser and heat exchanger, communication lines, and storage. Providing a public outlet for hydrogen with significant capacity will encourage the transition to EVs.

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