Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors Act (H.R. 7980) Support Outreach

Email

Representatives each have a dedicated email page for constituents to use, and they are actively monitored. In fact, every Representative has a member(s) of their staff whose main job is to respond to all incoming emails. Furthermore, the senior staff track what the incoming emails are about and brief the Representative at least weekly.

Instructions:

To locate your Representative’s constituent email:

• Click here look up your federal Representative from your District
• Put in your zip code
• Under the photo of your Representative is an email icon
• Click on that icon and you will be directed to the site to email
• Follow the instructions for submission

*You will send the email through the website instead of your traditional email box

See sample email below

Sample Email:

Dear Representative (Last Name),

My name is XXXXXX from (your Title and school you work for or represent) or (city you are from), and as a constituent I am writing on behalf of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA). ATIXA is an independent not-for-profit association committed to supporting Title IX professionals in colleges and K-12 schools and districts. We have 8,600 active members from colleges, universities, schools, and organizations.

I am reaching out today to urge you to please support and cosponsor Rep. Madeleine Dean’s (D-PA) Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors Act (H.R. 7980).

Currently, the FSA process discriminates against victims of sexual violence by not affording them similar deferment opportunities granted to other students facing hardships. The current law providing loan deferments does not extend to victims of sexual violence, yet many victims of sexual violence are forced to temporarily withdraw from college for more than 6 months, thus triggering repayment and interest accrual requirements.

There needs to be a Federal Financial Aid repayment exception for victims of sexual violence. Currently, there are loan deferments for students enrolled in school (i.e., in-school deferment) for graduate fellowship deferment, rehabilitation training program deferment, unemployment deferment, economic hardship deferment, and also military service deferment.

This bill would create a Federal Financial Aid repayment exception for victims of sexual violence. This would allow victims of sexual violence, who have to take a leave of absence from school for 6-12 month increments up to 3 years of loan deferment in total.

As (insert your title), I can personally attest that this piece of legislation will be a life-altering change for the benefit of thousands of survivors of campus sexual violence.

Thank you for your consideration!

Name
Title and School
City
Email

To view an Organizational Support Letter, click here.

Phone Calls

Instructions:

• Phone Number
  To contact your Representative, please call the Congressional switchboard, and they can direct you to their office.
  Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

• Find your Representative
  To locate your Congressperson’s:
  • Click here look up your federal Representative from your District
  • Put in your zip code
  • Your Representative’s name will show up.

Make the Call:

Overview:
Your call matters! Congressional offices actively track and log the calls they receive from constituents and give daily reports to the office’s senior staff and the Member.

When calling, stay relaxed and keep the conversation light! The odds are the person answering the phone is either an assistant akin to a receptionist or an intern. Furthermore, they are not policy experts, so do not assume they understand what you are talking about. Remember to speak slowly.

Introduce yourself:

• Name
• Title, if applicable
• School you represent, if applicable
• Home city

Ask them a polite question about themselves. These staffers answer hundreds of calls a day and routinely get yelled at . . . a lot.

Sample questions:

• Are you from the State?
  • If so, ask them what part?
• If you know the area they are from, ask them about a favorite local restaurant or about a local sports team.
• How long have you been with the office?
• If they are an intern, ask them where they go to school?

Reason for calling today: To request the Representative cosponsor the Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors Act (H.R. 7980).

Talking points: 

• Madeleine Dean introduced this bill which would have the U.S. Department of Education create a Federal financial aid repayment deferment for victims of sexual violence who temporarily withdraw from college in order to seek treatment and focus on their mental and physical health rehabilitation.
• Explain how sexual violence on campus is pervasive: 13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).[1]
• Share your story: Explain why you believe creating a federal financial aid repayment exception for victims of sexual violence is essential.
• Overall, this bill would create a Federal Financial Aid repayment exception for victims of sexual violence. This would allow victims of sexual violence, who have to take a leave of absence from school for 6-12 month increments, up to 3 years of loan deferment in total. This legislation will be a life-altering change for the benefit of thousands of survivors of campus sexual violence.

Ask: Will the Representative help constituents like you, and the others in your local community they represent, by cosponsoring the Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors bill?

Note: If they have any questions about the bill or want to cosponsor, they can reach out to:

• Megan Ruane in Rep. Madeleine Dean’s office: ruane@mail.house.gov

Thank the office for their time and taking your call.

Social Media

For those who are inclined to reach out to your Representative via social media platforms such as Twitter below you will find some sample posting. Please remember when posting to use your personal accounts and not the accounts associated with your institutions. If there is an opportunity to use your institution’s account, please reach out to the ATIXA’s offices first. Remember, social media posts should be short (no more than 240 characters), direct, and provide essential details.

Furthermore, when posting a tweet directed at a Congressperson, please include the @ symbol along with the Representative’s twitter handle all as one word followed by your message and be sure to include the following hashtags!

#ATIXAorg
#TitleIX

Sample Tweet:

@Rep_____ Please cosponsor H.R. 7980 the Student Loan Deferment for Sexual Violence Survivors Act! This is critical legislation for students who are victims of sexual assault provide a loan deferment for temporary withdrawal.

Remember, when crafting your own personalized messages that tagging the Congressperson’s handles and including of the hashtags are vial.