2020 Press Releases

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• 5/5/2020 AG Tong Urges Telecom Industry to Expand Illegal Robocall Response

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general in calling on USTelecom and its Industry Traceback Group (ITG) to expand its collaboration with state attorneys general by bolstering technological capabilities to improve enforcement against illegal robocallers.

• 5/4/2020 Attorney General Tong Urges Senate to Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act

  Attorney General William Tong has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general, led by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, urging the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which expired more than a year ago. As isolation and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic increases the risk to domestic violence victims, the Senate must to act immediately, the attorneys general argue.

• 5/4/2020 Attorney General Tong Announces Settlement with Connecticut Counseling Centers Over Drug Testing Overpayments

  Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, and Department of Social Services Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford today announced a $295,211 joint federal/state settlement with Connecticut Counseling Centers (CCC) resolving overpayments for drug testing.

• 5/4/2020 Attorney General Tong Joins Multistate Amicus Challenging Title X Gag Rule

  Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, supporting the City of Baltimore in its lawsuit against the Trump-Pence Administration’s Title X rule.

• 5/1/2020 Attorney General Tong Calls on Federal Government to Protect Seniors’ Homes During Coronavirus Pandemic

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan coalition of 26 attorneys general urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take immediate action to protect seniors with reverse mortgages from foreclosure as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 5/1/2020 Attorney General Tong Files Suit to Protect Clean Water

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to gut longstanding Clean Water Act protections by unlawfully narrowing the definition of “Waters of the United States. The EPA final rule removes protections for all ephemeral streams, many wetlands, and other waters that were previously covered under the Act. In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that EPA’s rule directly conflicts with the text of the Clean Water Act, Supreme Court precedent, and the EPA’s own scientific findings.

• 4/29/2020 Attorney General Tong Continues Fight to Stop Public Charge Rule

  Attorney General William Tong joined New York, Vermont and New York City in filing a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to temporarily halt implementation of the Trump Administration’s Public Charge Rule in light of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

• 4/24/2020 Attorney General Tong Urges PURA to Consider Equity and Fairness in Energy Investments

  In comments filed with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Office of the Attorney General urged regulators to consider questions of equity and fairness in energy infrastructure investments as our state and nation face unprecedented economic upheaval from the COVID-19 public health crisis.

• 4/24/2020 Attorney General Tong Asks Congress to Regulate Prices of Medical Supplies, Equipment During COVID-19 Pandemic

  Attorney General William Tong joined Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and a coalition of attorneys general from across the country in sending a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to temporarily fix the prices of medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 4/24/2020 Attorney General Tong Opposes Plan to Gut Federal Nutrition Standards for School Meals

  Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rollbacks of nutrition standards for school meals. In comments filed with the USDA, the coalition argues that the proposed rule substantially weakens existing standards for the school meals that tens of millions of children rely on every day and lacks any sound basis in nutrition science.

• 4/23/2020 Attorney General Tong Statement on Trump Immigration Proclamation

  Attorney General William Tong issued a statement regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration proclamation.

• 4/23/2020 Attorney General Tong Recommends Help for Homeowners Affected by COVID-19

  In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General William Tong and a bipartisan coalition of 35 attorneys general recommended actions to help borrowers with mortgage loans in letters sent to the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

• 4/22/2020 Attorney General Tong Urges Telecom Companies to Keep Connecticut Residents Connected

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan group of 25 attorneys general led by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery urging the telecommunications industry to make further commitments to protect consumers who are struggling financially as a result of COVID-19 and in calling upon the FCC for support.

• 4/22/2020 AG Tong and DCP Warn Against Pyramid Schemes Proliferating During COVID19 Crisis

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today warned consumers to avoid pyramid schemes proliferating on social media during the current COVID-19 public health crisis.

• 4/21/2020 Attorney General Tong Urges 3M to Take Further Measures to Prevent Price Gouging of Personal Protective Equipment

  Attorney General William Tong has joined Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring and 19 attorneys general in urging 3M to do more to combat inflated prices of N95 respirators and other desperately needed personal protective equipment (PPE).