2019 Press Releases

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• 8/23/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG LEADS FIGHT FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR IMMIGRANTS

  Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of nine states today in filing an amicus brief defending New York's Green Light Law, which authorizes the issuance of driving credentials to residents without regard to their federal immigration status.

• 7/17/2019 AG TONG, DSS COMMISSIONER GIFFORD, COMPTROLLER LEMBO ANNOUNCE FALSE CLAIMS ACT LAWSUIT AGAINST THERAPY UNLIMITED FOR ALLEGEDLY SUBMITTING FALSE CLAIMS TO CONNECTICUT'S MEDICAID AND STATE HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS

  Attorney General William Tong, Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford, and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, today announced a lawsuit against Therapy Unlimited, LLC and its owner, Catherine Risigo Wickline, for allegedly engaging in pervasive and illegal schemes to submit false claims to Connecticut's Medicaid program and the state employee/retiree health plan for millions of dollars of reimbursements that they were not entitled to receive.

• 8/28/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG CONDEMNS TRUMP ATTEMPT TO IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing the Council of Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) draft guidance on consideration of greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA serves as the cornerstone of America’s environmental regulatory framework and requires agencies to consider environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change, as part of their decision-making process.

• 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.

• 7/10/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN IN CIVIL DETENTION

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of attorneys general, led by California and Massachusetts, in filing an amicus brief to defend the human rights of immigrant children in civil detention in the United States.

• 11/14/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG OPPOSES TRUMP PLAN TO GUT LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND DESTABILIZE ACA HEALTH EXCHANGES

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and New York City in support of a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's Health Insurance Proclamation that would simultaneously slash legal immigration and destabilize health exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.

• 1/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $120 MILLION MULTISTATE SETTLEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE MARKETING OF HIP IMPLANT DEVICES

  Attorney General William Tong announced today a $120 million multistate settlement with 45 other attorneys general resolving allegations of unfair and deceptive marketing of metal-on-metal hip implant devices by Johnson & Johnson and DePuy, Inc. Connecticut will receive $1.8 million, to be deposited in the general fund.

• 9/24/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG OPPOSES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RULE THAT RISKS DEPORTATION OF LAWFUL RESIDENTS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of attorneys general in issuing comments formally opposing the Trump Administration’s new rule that vastly expands the use of expedited removal. Under the new rule, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is authorized to deport certain individuals living anywhere in the United States without the due process protections afforded in normal removal proceedings, such as the right to an attorney or a hearing before a judge.

• 9/24/2019 AG TONG JOINS 24 STATE COALITION OPPOSING TRUMP RULE THAT WOULD TAKE FOOD ASSISTANCE AWAY FROM MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general opposing the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed changes would take basic food assistance away from more than three million people, disqualify hundreds of thousands of children from free school meals, and punish working families with modest savings. The coalition filed a comment letter against a proposed United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that would end states’ ability to set rules for SNAP eligibility based on the unique needs of their communities. The letter argues that the proposed rule would violate federal law and harm the states, their residents, their local economies, and public health.

• 9/25/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG BACKS BILL TO OVERTURN TRUMP MUSLIM BAN, END IMMIGRATION DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RELIGION

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general, led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, in urging Congress to support a bill that would expand the anti-discrimination protections in the Immigration and Naturalization Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion in immigration decisions.

• 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.

• 4/24/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT ARGUMENTS ON CENSUS CITIZENSHIP QUESTION

• 10/22/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG AND COALITION WIN APPEAL TO BLOCK TRUMP EFFORT TO STRIP ACCESS TO COST-FREE BIRTH CONTROL

  Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with a coalition of states in State of California, et al. v. Alex Azar, II, et al., protecting an injunction currently in place. Connecticut is part of the multistate lawsuit seeking to block the Trump Administration's efforts to give employers the ability to deny women access to cost-free birth control guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act.

• 10/29/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, COALITION URGES FEDERAL COOPERATION WITH STATES ON CLEAN ENERGY GOALS

  AGs Argue that Combatting the Climate Crisis Requires Collaboration with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

• 12/5/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT REGARDING SANDY HOOK WORKER'S ASSISTANCE PROGRAM