Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) announced the introduction of H.R. 4137, the Jennifer Kepner Healthcare for Open-air burn-Pit Exposure (HOPE) Act, legislation that would make veterans exposed to burn pits eligible for low-cost health care from the Veterans Administration. The bill is named after Cathedral City veteran Jennifer Kepner, a wife and mother who died from pancreatic cancer linked to her exposure to toxic burn pits during her military service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Democratic leaders announced the passage of H.R. 3239, the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would establish basic standards of care requiring CBP to meet the humanitarian needs of the children, seniors, women and families in its custody.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed four amendments authored by Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Palm Desert) that seek to end the use of burn pits, educate doctors about the health effects of burn pit exposure, and increase transparency about active burn pits threatening the health of servicemembers stationed overseas. Dr. Ruiz's amendments were included in H.R. 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which passed the House by a vote of 402-12 and is now headed to the Senate for further consideration.

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.