Foreign Service Workforce Retention Act

Chris Van Hollen

Democrat · MD · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Brian Schatz (D-HI)Original· 2026-05-21

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

The bill would change the rules for how the State Department can recall and rehire career diplomats and foreign service officers. It would give the government more flexibility in bringing back experienced diplomats who have left their positions, potentially allowing them to return to work without going through the full hiring process again. This affects professional diplomats and foreign service workers who represent the United States abroad.

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] [S. 4642 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4642 To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 relating to the recall and reappointment of career members. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2026 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations _______________________________________________________________________ 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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