2019 Press Releases

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• 2/8/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DENOUNCES CFPB'S REVERSAL OF PAYDAY LENDING RULE

  Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement today denouncing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) decision to abandon its own Payday Lending Rule that protects low-income consumers from the abusive practices of the payday and auto title loan industries.

• 9/17/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS AMICUS BRIEF DEFENDING WOMEN'S ACCESS TO CONSTITUTIONALLY-PROTECTED ABORTION SERVICES

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general across the country in filing an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, challenging a Kentucky state law that would ban physicians from providing second-trimester abortion services using the most common and safest procedure available for women after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

• 8/12/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS NATIONWIDE COALITION TO INTERVENE IN CENSUS CHALLENGE

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a 26-member coalition from around the country — including 15 states, the District of Columbia, three counties, six cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors — in opposing the State of Alabama’s attempt to advance a discriminatory agenda and tilt the power within Congress and the Electoral College by refusing to count every individual in the 2020 decennial census.

• 8/13/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST TRUMP'S DIRTY POWER RULE

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 states and 7 local governments today in announcing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Dirty Power" rule.

• 8/13/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION CONDEMNING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S PROPOSED RULE THAT ELIMINATES ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS IN HEALTHCARE

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed rule to drastically undermine Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits discrimination in federal healthcare programs, benefits, and services. Specifically, Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age. The proposed rule would roll back anti-discrimination protections for women, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with limited English proficiency, and individuals with disabilities by undermining critical legal protections that guarantee healthcare as a right.

• 9/11/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG SEEKS PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER PUBLIC CHARGE RULE

  Attorney General William Tong today filed a motion to seek a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump Administration’s public charge rule from taking effect on Oct. 15 of this year. The public charge rule aims to deny entry, green cards, and visas to immigrants who have used or are deemed likely to use certain government assistance programs.

• 11/27/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG FIGHTS TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general fighting to support transgender rights in an antidiscrimination lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia. Gavin Grimm, a former student at Gloucester High School, sued the local school board in 2015 — when he was still a student — for discrimination that banned him from using the common male restrooms at his high school. The coalition filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of Grimm in the case of Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board.

• 10/17/2019 TONG SEEKS EXTENDED LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR FORMER ARGOSY AND ART INSTITUTES STUDENTS

  Attorney General William Tong has joined a bipartisan coalition of 30 state attorneys general urging U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to expand loan forgiveness eligibility for students who were enrolled in schools operated by the Dream Center Education Holdings, LLC (DCEH). The letter details extraordinary misconduct and mismanagement by DCEH, which prevented students from obtaining degrees, and unfairly left them to repay federal student-loan debt from their time attending the failed schools.

• 5/3/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG OPPOSES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROPOSAL TO END COST-SAVING ENERGY STANDARDS FOR LIGHTBULBS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposal to overturn energy efficiency requirements for certain lightbulbs.

• 6/26/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $1.5 MILLION FALSE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT WITH CLINICAL SCIENCE LABORATORY, INC.

  (Hartford, CT) – Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today announced a $1.5 million settlement with Clinical Science Laboratory, Inc. (CSL) and its owners Stanley Elfbaum and Louis Amoruso resolving False Claims Act violations related to over billing for urine drug tests.

• 12/3/2019 TONG PRAISES PURA DRAFT DECISION PROTECTING VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS FROM PREDATORY ELECTRIC SUPPLIERS

  Attorney General William Tong praised a draft decision by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) that would shield hardship customers from third-party electric suppliers. Third-party suppliers have overcharged Connecticut's most vulnerable consumers by more than $7.2 million over a two year period when compared to the utility standard service rates offered by Eversource Energy and the United Illuminating Company. Hardship customers generally include those with a documented financial hardship, a certified medical protection, or those who receive public assistance.

• 9/3/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION DEMANDING ANSWERS FROM TRUMP ADMIN OVER CHANGES TO PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES IMMIGRANTS WITH LIFESAVING MEDICAL CARE

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, calling on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide immediate answers regarding the status and oversight of the federal government’s medical deferred action program. For years, medical deferred action has allowed immigrants to apply to remain in the United States if they are in extreme medical need. USCIS has long overseen and managed this program, but last week, without warning, USCIS informed applicants in denial letters that the agency is no longer overseeing the program. The Trump Administration has since failed to issue any formal directive or guidance on the new process for reviewing medical deferred action requests, including what federal agency is overseeing the program, and the coalition is demanding answers.

• 1/24/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG PRAISES PURA DECISION LOWERING RATES ACROSS ALL PUBLIC UTILITIES

  "This decision today means lower rates across the board for Connecticut consumers across all regulated utilities. Ratepayers shoulder the burden of utility taxes, and the Office of the Attorney General fought to ensure every dollar saved due to corporate tax cuts will be used to drive down rates."

• 8/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS 51 ATTORNEYS GENERAL AND 12 COMPANIES IN FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS

  Attorney General William Tong today announced that a bipartisan, public/private coalition that he joined, consisting of 51 attorneys general and 12 phone companies, has agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls.

• 11/14/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG CALLS ON THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CANCEL LOANS FOR FORMER ITT TECH STUDENTS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a multistate effort calling on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately forgive the loans of former ITT Tech students who attended the bankrupt for-profit school when it closed.