Foreign Service Workforce Retention Act

Johnny Olszewski, Jr.

Democrat · MD · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Ami Bera (D-CA-6)Original· 2026-05-21

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

The proposal would change rules for how the State Department can bring back retired career diplomats and foreign service officers for temporary assignments and then rehire them permanently if needed. This affects career foreign service employees who have left their positions and could potentially return to work, as well as the State Department's ability to fill staffing needs by recalling experienced professionals. The measure is currently under review by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8987 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8987 To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 relating to the recall and reappointment of career members. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 21, 2026 Mr. Olszewski (for himself and Mr. Bera) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 relating to the recall and reappointment of career members. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Service Workforce Retention Act''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 1980. Section 308 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3948) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in the first sentence-- (i) by inserting ``or separated'' after ``any retired''; and (ii) by inserting ``or separation'' after ``of retirement''; and (B) in the second sentence-- (i) by inserting ``or separated'' after ``A retired''; (ii) by inserting ``or separated'' after ``a retired''; and (iii) by inserting ``or separation'' after ``of retirement''; (2) in subsection (b)-- (A) by striking ``Former career members'' and inserting the following: ``(1) Former career members''; (B) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by inserting ``, for a period of five years after the date of retirement or separation,'' after ``without regard to section 306''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(2) A member seeking reappointment in the Service under paragraph (1) shall be reappointed not later than 180 days after the date of the approval of such request for reappointment to the Department and shall be incorporated into the next onward assignment application cycle of the Service with full standing.''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(c) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report detailing-- ``(1) the number of career members of the Service who were recalled and reappointed under this section during the preceding fiscal year; ``(2) the grade of each such member at the time of their retirement or separation; and ``(3) the grade and position of each such member at the time of their recall or reappointment.''. <all>

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