The campaign...

This page outlines the campaign in three sections.
Campaign overview & general Information
Problems to solve and campaign outcomes
Request a Congressional Inquiry and help us track 

Our progress...

Our goal is 250 Congressional inquiries and responses documented.

Deadline for Outreach​: April 30, 2026

We did not conduct a call-to-action operation in 2025.  This campaign seeks to have borrowers re-engage their Congresspeople through a simple and formal request through one of their offices.  The aim for this campaign is to direct a volume of Congressional Inquiries to the Department of Education's  (ED) Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA) regarding Phase II of JCLSA implementation. Submitting by the date above helps ensure borrower concerns are raised together, increasing visibility and urgency with the ED.

Why This Matters​

Phase II of JCLSA affects thousands of borrowers who have waited years for relief.  Our campaign is to raise visibility, create pressure for Phase II execution and drive responses from the Department of Education through Congressional Inquiries, by directing a concentrated volume of inquiries through House and Senate offices to force attention, consistency and action on administering federal benefits under published JCLSA guidance.

Consistent with historical treatment of JCLs, varied and inconsistent guidance from ED, FSA and servicers on Phase II has generally raised more questions than provided substantive answers on which borrowesr can base decision sor plans.

By requesting Congressional Inquiries regarding the status of your loan through one of your Congressional Offices, we:​
  • Create oversight and accountability
  • Document ongoing delays
  • Push the Department of Education toward clear, public timelines

Your voice matters.

What Is a Congressional Inquiry?​

A congressional inquiry is when your U.S. Representative or Senator contacts the Department of Education (DOE) on your behalf to request answers or updates about your federal student loans.

While it does not guarantee an outcome, it often:
  • Produces a written response from DOE
  • Clarifies timelines and next steps
  • Elevates unresolved delays in JCLSA Phase II implementation

Problem(s) To Solve...

 In early January 2026, Federal Student Aid (FSA) updated their Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) missing payment banner on their Joint Consolidation Loan Separation News and Updates page.

The new language specifies that "Updated PSLF information will display in spring 2026."
There are multiple problems related to communication.
  1. The messaging regarding the Income Driven Repayment (IDR) Adjustment and PSLF from FSA, FSA Ombudsman's Office, and across servicers related to specifics on how and when these benefits will be handled is inconsistent, likely because the procedures are not yet in practice. In January 2026, ED updated the status for PSLF to indicate updates would begin Spring 2026.
  2. There are indications and concerns that JCLSA knowledge transfer during the 2025 administration transition may not have been effective. 
  3. The new administration is deplete of resources.  Consequently, formal communication and responsiveness from ED/FSA to JCL borrowers has been generally poor.
  4. In late-February, borrowers reported that ED/FSA began advising that IDR and PSLF credits based on the One-Time Adjustment will commence July 2026, but there is no clarification of which borrowers will be treated: those who formerly had ED-held Direct or FFEL loans, or those who formerly had commercially-held FFEL loans, or both.

The Operation: Purpose & Goals...

 What we want:
  • We want to ensure that ED delivers the IDR and PSLF payment credits and information in Spring 2026. 
  • We want to ensure that ED delivers these benefits to Joint Consolidation Borrowers as it was promised. 
  • We want to ensure that ED promotes transparent, consistent and timley responses to borrowers and proper execution through clear guidance to servicers.  

Campaign Purpose
​The purpose of this campaign is to reengage our Congressional offices to prompt action and communication, aligned with the previously listed outcomes, from ED through a concentrated volume of Congressional Inquiries leading up to March-April 2026.  It is believed that by directing a volume of similar requests with consistent questions across ED's finite casework desks, we can force consistency and greater transparency in ED's guidance.

​Campaign Goal
​Our goal is to push at least 250 Congressional Inquiries across  Department of Education casework desks from our Congresspeople by April 15, 2026 and have the requests and any responses documented in a central repository.  This information would then be transformed into a knowledge base for JCL borrowesr working through separation and IDR/PSLF credits.

What your outreach looks like... Requesting the Congressional Inquiry

Expand each step below to understand the process.
STEP 1: COLLECT KEY LOAN INFORMATION
Identify and collect your loan information.
  • Know if your loan was one of the following:
    1. ED-held Direct Joint Consolidation Loan
    2. ED-held Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)
    3. Commercially-held Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)
  • Know whether you are seeking Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) credit and/or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) credit.
STEP 2: FIND YOUR CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE & THEIR STAFFERS
  • Use The DoUsPart! Map to find your U.S. Representative and Senators by simply finding your address and clicking the map to reveal a popup with all their important information to include their temperature check on JCLSA support, official contact page, Legistorm request language and much more.  Only one congressional office will process your Congressional Inquiry, so you will need to choose which office you would like to work on your behalf. If you are married or cooperatively divorced, we encourage each borrower tocoordinate and inquire through a different office.​
  • You can use the popup to copy and paste the necessary language to make a request for Legistorm staffer contact information to circumvent the formality and bureaucracy of working through the official contact page, which has historically proven more effective for conventional outreach to an office.  This service is only available to members of DoUsPart!
STEP 3: REQUEST HELP WITH A FEDERAL AGENCY
On your Member of Congress’s official contact page, look for:
  • "Help with a Federal Agency"
  • "Constituent Services"
  • "Casework"
Each office organizes their official contact page differently.  This is generally where you submit a congressional inquiry request.
STEP 4: Complete the Privacy Release Form
To act on your behalf, the congressional office will require a privacy release form.
Most forms are electronic. You may be asked for:
  • Full name and address
  • Email and phone number
  • Student loan servicer (if known)
  • Last 4 digits of your SSN (only if requested)
STEP 5: BE PREPARED TO SUBMIT Supporting Documents (Very Important)
When submitting your request, attach any documentation you have, including:​
  • Official JCLSA Phase II guidance (e.g. LOANS-24-13)
  • Case or reference numbers from StudentAid.gov
  • Emails or letters from your loan servicer(s)
  • Prior correspondence with DOE or FSA
  • Screenshots of your StudentAid.gov account (if helpful)​
  • A copy of your October 2022 Waiver Reconsideration confirmation email from the Department of Education (ED)
  • A copy of your Notification of Intent to Separate confirmation email from ED
  • A copy of your Separation Application or confirmation of receipt, if prior to June 30, 2025.  NOTE:  This is particularly important for borrowers who separated commercially-held Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) Joint Consolidations.  If your Joint Consolidation was an ED-held Direct JCL, then you can still get limited IDR credit applied even if you applied after June 30, 2026.
Providing documentation helps congressional staff move faster and strengthens your inquiry.
STEP 6: Submit Your Request
Here is a template letter devised for commercially-held FFEL Joint Consolidation borrowers. You can use it as it is written or modify it.  In either case, you'll need to modify:
  • The legislature's letter head and greeting
  • The current date
  • Your full contact information in the signature section​​
Congressional Inquiry Template Letter RE LOANS-24-13.docx
File Size: 8 kb
File Type: docx
Download File
When you submit, you should be sure to submit the following items.
  • Your Congressional Inquiry Request Letter
  • Your signed release form
  • Supporting information aggregated in step 1 and prepared in step 6.

​After submission, do the following.
  1. Record the name of the legislator and the date you submitted your request.
  2. Retain a copy of you rletter and note the questions that you asked.
  3. Print and save all email responses.
  4. Take detailed notes during any phone conversations or followup communication and retain those notes.
Good documentation is essential.
STEP 7: REPORT THAT YOU HAVE MADE THE REQUEST
Please seriously consider reporting when you have submitted a Congressional Inquiry to our Congressional Inquiry Tracker, even if you have not received a response yet.  Since we are interested in organized efforts, this will help us track how many people have requested congressional inquiries and the aim of the inquiries.
STEP 8: Watch for a Response
Be deliberate.  You have to followup.  It keeps their attention and forces accountability.  By conducting periodic followup, you restate the request and problem.
  • Most congressional offices respond within 2–4 weeks
  • Responses are usually provided in writing
  • Save all confirmations, emails, and replies for your records​
If you haven’t heard back after a few weeks, it is appropriate to politely follow up.  Generally, a staffer at your Congressional office will be assigned to shepherd you Inquiry.  If you don't know who that staffer is and are a member of DoUsPart!, you can use the DoU.S.Part! Map to get request language for staffer contact information for your Conressional Offices.

While it is likely that the staffer responsible for education or student loan affairs will manage the congressional inquiry, this is where accessing Legistorm staffer information can help as it will give the direct contact information for staffers relevant to your JCLSA matters.  However, you cannot assume that all staffers understand the JCLSA, so it is encumbent on borrowers to understand how to advocate for themselves.  There is a lot of information on this website and blog to facilitate your self-advocacy.
​
STEP 9: REPORT YOUR RESPONSE
Once a formal response is received, please seriously consider sharing the response by copying and pasting the text from the response into our Congressional Inquiry Tracker.  Alternatively, you can upload the response on a different form.

Important!  We are not interested in your personal identification information or loan details, besides your name.  We only use your name to tie you to your DoUsPart! membership.  Please redact or exclude personal information before submitting, as we only wish to track how long it took to receive a formal response and the substantive response to your questions regarding policy and procedure.
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