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Press Releases

September 30, 2020

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Raul Ruiz's bill, H.R. 2519, the Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act. Individuals who end up in the emergency department for acute mental health episodes often don't get the long-term care they need simply because emergency departments often lack the resources to identify and secure appropriate care. H.R.

September 24, 2020

Washington, D.C. -- During the House Veterans Affairs Committee on September 23 hearing entitled "Toxic Exposures: Examining Airborne Hazards in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations," Congressman Ruiz questioned witnesses from the Department of Veterans Affairs about servicemembers' toxic exposure to burn pits.

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September 24, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Salton Sea got its first congressional hearing since 1997. This comes after Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) and Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51) urged a congressional hearing to address the impending public health and environmental health crisis at the Salton Sea.

September 15, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, veterans advocate Jon Stewart, U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, 9/11 activist John Feal, and many veterans advocates' announced landmark legislation, the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2020. The bill would streamline the process for obtaining VA benefits for burn pit and other toxic exposures.

September 10, 2020

Palm Desert, CA – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. released a new report prepared by the staff of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties detailing the dire costs of an undercount for California's 36th Congressional District. With just 20 days left to respond to the Census, Dr. Ruiz is urging residents to complete their Census forms immediately before the impending deadline.

August 18, 2020

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) led 60 Members of Congress in calling on the Trump Administration to create a COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan now that prioritizes health equity. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Rep. Ruiz urged the Secretary to take a strategic, public health approach to vaccine distribution that prioritizes those at risk for transmission and dying of the disease, such as essential workers, seniors, individuals with pre-existing conditions, and communities of color.

August 17, 2020

Thermal, CA – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) – a physician and Southern California Congressman – donned PPE and administered COVID-19 tests to farmworkers in the eastern Coachella Valley. Farmworkers are essential workers who are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection due to working and living conditions. Congressman Ruiz, who is the son of farmworkers himself, administered today's tests alongside the Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine – a volunteer medical group he helped found.

July 31, 2020

Washington, DC – This week, the House of Representatives passed two important bills that contain provisions written by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. that will strengthen the federal, state, and local partnership to mitigate the impending public health crisis at the Salton Sea.

July 30, 2020

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. advocated for improved drinking water standards to protect underserved communities like the Oasis Mobile Home Park in Thermal, California. Dr. Ruiz, who is also Vice-Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee, called for reforms to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to make clean drinking water more accessible and affordable during today's hearing entitled, "There's Something in the Water: Reforming Our Nation's Drinking Water Standards."

July 28, 2020

Washington, DC – Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) is calling on the IRS to expedite stimulus checks to people who still have not received their Economic Impact Payments (stimulus checks) and to be more responsive in answering inquiries about the status of pending checks. In a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig, Dr. Ruiz said his office had submitted 80 inquiries and received fewer than 20 responses from the IRS.

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