U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D., grew up in the community of Coachella, California, where both of his parents were farmworkers.
Dr. Ruiz achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a physician through public education. After graduating from Coachella Valley High School, Dr. Ruiz graduated magna cum laude from UCLA. He went on to Harvard University, where he earned his Medical Degree, as well as a Masters of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a Masters of Public Health from the School of Public Health, becoming the first Latino to earn three graduate degrees from Harvard University. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a Fellowship in International Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During his training, Dr. Ruiz served as a consultant to the Ministries of Health of both Serbia and El Salvador.
The 36th District is home to a rich diversity of natural resources and iconic public lands. Our district is also leading the way in clean, renewable energy industries such as wind, solar, and geothermal. Investing in renewable energy is an important part of fulfilling our obligation as stewards of the environment, and it will also help create clean energy jobs in our communities and strengthen the local economy.
The United States needs a national energy policy that will help our nation achieve energy independence and create clean energy jobs right here at home. Advanced clean energy technology holds tremendous economic potential for the 36th District. We need a comprehensive national energy policy that will invest in clean energy and put us on the path to energy independence. This is an environmental, economic, and national security issue.
In Congress, I am a member of the bipartisan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency caucus. In addition, I have supported the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and worked to strengthen America’s energy independence through cooperative agreements between the private and public sector. In 2013, I joined 75 of my colleagues urging support for the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to spur innovation in renewable electricity generation, sustainable transportation, and energy and cost-saving technologies for businesses and homes.
One of the most important environmental issues facing the 36th District is the Salton Sea. For far too long, the Salton Sea has posed immense health risks to the families and children in the 36th District and across Southern California.
As an Emergency Room doctor, I know the dangers that the dying Sea poses to our local communities, especially our young children. Pediatric asthma rates in our region are already among some of the highest in the nation, due in large part to the dust beds that form as the Salton Sea continues to dry up.
These health problems will only get worse unless we take aggressive steps to restore the Salton Sea. The consequences will be catastrophic if we fail to act. We must work together on the federal, state, and local level, and through public-private partnerships to prevent the Sea from becoming a public health catastrophe. I have been actively working with local stakeholders, the state of California, the President’s Administration, and my colleagues in Congress to take action on this issue and meet this crisis head on as a community.