Raul Ruiz - Political Positions - Project Vote Smart

Representative Raul Ruiz's Political Positions

Biographical

Full Name:	Raul Ruiz
Current Office:	U.S. House - District 36, Democratic
First Elected:	11/06/2012
Last Elected:	11/06/2012
Next Election:	2014
Gender:	Male
Home City:	Coachella Valley, CA

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Raul Ruiz refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?

This candidate has demonstrated 0% courage during the test.

*Note: This percentage is calculated based on the number of issue areas addressed by the candidate on the Political Courage Test at the conclusion of the testing period. It does not indicate support or lack of support by Project Vote Smart.

Issue Positions

In response to the increasing unwillingness of candidates to answer issue questions, Project Vote Smart has researched Presidential and Congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues. These are provided below as a courtesy to voters.

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Abortion: Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?

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Afghanistan: Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan?

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Budget: In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?

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Budget: In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?

Vote Smart's Research

Raul Ruiz. My Dessert: Full Interview: Dr. Raul Ruiz, Congressional Candidate. "The payroll tax cut is one of those abilities and policies that we can institute so that hard working Americans in the middle class can have a thousand dollars more on average in their pocket a year." (www.mydesert.com)
Raul Ruiz. Facebook: Timeline. 10 April 2012. "Our differing priorities and values are reflected in our approach to the budget. I do not believe that the burden of our economic crisis should be placed on the shoulders of seniors and hard working middle class Americans while millionaires continue to receive large tax cuts." (www.facebook.com)
Raul Ruiz. Facebook: Wall. 29 March 2012. "'The Congresswoman has the wrong priorities: forcing seniors to pay more for health care, while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and Big Oil companies that are making record profits,' Ruiz said in a news release to the media." (www.facebook.com)
Raul Ruiz. Facebook: Notes. 27 March 2012. When House Republicans decided to release a budget to end Medicare while cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, they put politics before people. (www.facebook.com)
Raul Ruiz. Facebook: Timeline. 1 April 2012. "Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack voted for the radical hyper-partisan Ryan Budget Plan that will give tax breaks for millionaires and end Medicare as we know it and endanger our seniors' health and economic security." (www.facebook.com)

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Economy: Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?

Vote Smart's Research

Raul Ruiz. Campaigns: Dr. Raul Ruiz for Congress: Why am I running? 13 June 2012. "Congress needs to systematically address these issues by focusing on job-creation, economic stimulus that puts money back in the pockets of American families and educational opportunities for our children, so in the future, we can continue to live up to our reputation of being the birth place of innovation." (secure.democracyforamerica.com)
L. Anthony Cirillo, MD. Emergency Physicians Monthly: Raul Ruiz: Harvard Scholar Vies for SoCal Office. 18 January 2012. "Congress needs to systematically address these issues by focusing on job-creation, economic stimulus that puts money back in the pockets of American families." (www.epmonthly.com)

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Economy: Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation?

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Education: Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants?

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Energy: Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production?

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Environment: Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?

Yes

Guns: Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?

Vote Smart's Research

Raul Ruiz. Video: KPSP Local 2 Interview. 13 August 2012. "Q: Where do you stand on gun control issues and also mental health policies? [¦] And my stance on gun control, Brooke, is that we don't need any new laws. We need to implement the laws and enforce the laws that we have on the books already. California has one of the best examples of those laws. If the other states would have had laws like California's, they would not have had assault guns and the capacity to do that." (www.youtube.com)

Health Care: Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act?

Vote Smart's Research

Raul Ruiz. Video: Dr. Raul Ruiz- Candidate for Congress. 7 February 2012. "When we look at the Affordable Care Act, first, we have to maximize the implementation because the Affordable Care Act will insure more Americans in this country, and we need more Americans to be insured. The other thing we need to add on to the Affordable Care Act is addressing the physician shortage crises in our district. For example, we have 1 physician for 9,000 residents in several large areas of our district. The medically appropriate recommendation is 1 to 2,000. (www.youtube.com)
L. Anthony Cirillo, MD. Emergency Physicians Monthly: Raul Ruiz: Harvard Scholar Vies for SoCal Office. 18 January 2012. "I believe that some of the components of the healthcare reform enacted in this country under the PPACA law are good: elimination of lifetime caps, ban on exclusions to coverage based upon pre-existing conditions, and closure of the Medicare "donut" hole were all good. I also believe that the law missed a great opportunity to reduce healthcare costs by not comprehensively reforming tort reform and the cost of defensive medicine¦.this must happen if we are serious about reducing waste in the system." (www.epmonthly.com)
Raul Ruiz. KPBS: Doc With Rural Background Is A Champion For Community Medicine. 26 April 2011. "And when you think about healthcare reform and the legislation that's just passed, do you feel like it's actually gonna make much difference in a community like Coachella valley. RUIZ: 'If we're able to improve our capacity to attract federal funding for federal qualified health centers, to improve reimbursement rates. For example, with medicate and Medi-Cal. To improve pipeline programs with the new innovative programs or grants that are award said to innovative programs, then yes, it's possible. But if we go down the path of eliminating funding for programs for planned parenthood, for example, if we go down the path that decreases funding for Medi-Cal programs or Medicare programs, then we're only throwing wood to the fire and making the problem worse.'" (www.kpbs.org)

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Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?

Yes

Marriage: Do you support same-sex marriage?

Vote Smart's Research

Erica Felci. The Desert Sun: Mary Bono Mack stays mum on gay marriage, Raul Ruiz backs President Barack Obama. 10 May 2012. "I support marriage equality because I am opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether based on gender, race, age, or who you love [¦] The right to marriage should be available to everyone who wants to be in a committed loving relationship." (www.mydesert.com)
Raul Ruiz. Video: CBS Local 2: Candidate's reaching out for hispanic voters. 14 May 2012. "Same sex marriage could be a game changing factor. 'We are for full equality; that we are against any form of discrimination because we do not want anybody to live as second class citizens.'" (kesq.live.ib-prod.com)
Raul Ruiz. Video: Dr. Raul Ruiz- Candidate for Congress. 7 February 2012. "Well, you know, the gay rights movement and marriage equality is our modern day civil rights movement. And we need to come together and support each other to make sure that no American lives as a second class citizen. That all Americans are deserving their rights as citizens." (www.youtube.com)

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National Security: Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict?

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Social Security: Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts?

Key

Official Position: Candidate had the Political Courage to address this issue directly.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue directly, but Project Vote Smart inferred this issue position based on the candidate's public statements, voting record, and evaluations from special interest groups.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue.
Project Vote Smart's Research: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position.