Deadline for Outreach​: August 31, 2024


It’s the last dance! We need the Department of Education (ED) to release the JCLS application and start processing by September, so our members can submit the application and ED can process them before the end of 2024. This is the only way we can ensure ED is able to deliver on the promises made to us.

While Senator Warner’s office continues to make consistent contact with ED, they are asking us to, once again, become active advocates for our future! We need ALL members of this group to reach out to their Congressional offices. We know it’s hard. We know it can feel uncomfortable. We also know IT WORKS!

Our Purpose & Goals...

We need to ensure the timely implementation of a loan separation application by the end of August 2024 or early September 2024 that ensures borrowers can who filed Waiver Reconsideration Forms and/or Notifications of Intent to Separate Forms can consolidation to Direct and access the promised federal benefits under Biden's reforms (IBR/PSLF recounts and PSLF waiver) applied by ​December 31, 2024.
Our goal is to get at least 20 offices to reach out to ED directly. We have approximately 270 "warm" offices that have shown interest in one way or another beyond the initial vote for the law. Imagine if we can get ALL of those offices to take action!

How do I know if any offices in my district are "warm"?...


​Navigate to your address on The Do U.S. Part! Map and click the map next to your home for your Congress people's information popup. It will tell you who your House Representative and Senators are and indicate if they are "Cold", "Warm" or "Hot" on the JCLSA  You can also use this information to acquire to Legistorm contact information for your office.

What your outreach looks like... Phone Calls!

We know we won’t get all offices to take up our plight; so we need every member to reach out to their respective offices. Let’s see how many we can get.

Okay, but how? What do I need to do? It’s simple, really, and we have an Outreach Resources page to help you prepare.  We need members to take the following steps:
  1. Review the resources and understand what we want offices to do.
  2. Use the DoU.S.Part! Map to find your representatives.
  3. Obtain the names and contact information from Legistorm Data for staffers you need to talk to. This will get you to the right people rather than the “screener.”
  4. Make the phone call. We cannot emphasize this enough. Yes, email and contact forms are easier and less nerve-wracking, but they are also easy to ignore. They need to hear your voice---even if it’s a shaky, nervous, stumbling voice!
  5. Ask for the specifics. You want them to commit to asking ED for a progress (status) report with specific, hard deadlines for progress. If your representative says, “we will definitely keep an eye on it,” they aren’t taking tangible action. If they do not want to contact ED and ask for the progress report, ask them to be honest in their refusal to help you, a constituent. They will either help or they won’t.
  6. Report responses and temperature checks after each call made to an office.  This is incredibly important. We cannot necessarily change an office’s stance, but we can change our approach if we can evaluate our outreach results.
  7. Follow up (email is fine) weekly for a quick status update. If they do not respond to your email within 24 hours, give them a quick call to let them know you’re waiting to see what kind of progress they’ve made. ​

Get Staffer Info...

1. Find your address on The Do U.S. Part! Map and click the map for your Congress people's information popup.
2. ​Scroll to the bottom of the popup and select and copy your Congress people's information request to use in your request email or message.
3. In Facebook, use Facebook Messenger to create a message to Kristy Sinkhorn , paste the request information from the popup and send. You can also send an email to [email protected], Subject Line "Legistorm Request" and simply paste the request text from the popup into the email.

Background & Basis...

DoUsPart! and specific offices in Congress have worked to get all of the measures in place for implementing the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act (JCLSA), but the Department of Education (ED) has failed to provide an application for Joint Consolidation Loan (JCL) borrowers to separate these loans.  Our champion Mark warner has been in persistent contact with ED on JCLSA implementation 

What are these measures?
  • Both the ED and the Senate Appropriations Committee have confirmed that the ED has a defined spending plan for implementing JCLSA in late 2024, largely due to the following piece.
  • Most recently, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024“  (H.R. 2882, H. Res. 1102) and its explanatory statement set forth language outlining ED’s requirements regarding the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act and funding.
  • Since October 11, 2022, Public Law 117-200 (PL117-200), the JCLSA has allowed JCL borrowers the legal right to separate their loans and subsequently consolidate either or both to a Direct Consolidation loan as of October 12, 2022. This falls under the statute 20 U.S.C. § 1087e(g).
How do I conduct outreach?  What can I say when during a phone call?  What information can I provide my office to help make my case and gain support?
Identify and connect to your Representative's and Senator's and discover their stance on JCLSA on our interactive map. 
Report the outcomes your advocacy.  Indicate the temperature of your Congressman to your request here.
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