HR9730Referred to Committee

Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act of 2026

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-07-16
Introduced
6
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Democrat · VA · Representative
Votes with party: 98.0% (635 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/B001292

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (6)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

2026-07-16

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The legislation would make it easier for the State Department to rehire former career diplomats and Foreign Service officers who left their positions, potentially streamlining the process to bring experienced professionals back into government roles. This could help fill staffing gaps at the State Department and other diplomatic agencies by reducing bureaucratic barriers that previously made it difficult to quickly rehire people with existing expertise. The measure affects former Foreign Service members and the federal government's ability to manage its diplomatic workforce.

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.

Subjects

International Affairs

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

119 HR 9730 IH: Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act of 2026 U.S. House of Representatives 2026-07-16 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I119th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 9730IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJuly 16, 2026Mr. Beyer (for himself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Walkinshaw, Ms. Titus, Mr. Olszewski, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsA BILLTo expedite the rehiring of certain former career members of the Foreign Service, and for other purposes. 1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act of 2026. 2.Expedited rehiring of former career membersSection 308 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3948) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c) (1)With respect to any former career member of the Service involuntarily separated or retired as part of a reduction in force or other expedited retirement process during the period beginning January 20, 2025, and ending January 31, 2030, who was serving in good standing as of the date of such separation or retirement, the Secretary may reappoint such former career member without requiring any written or oral examination or other threshold qualification described in section 301. (2)For purposes of this subsection— (A)the term serving in good standing, with respect to an individual who was separated or retired, means that the individual did not receive any low rankings within the 5 years prior to their separation or retirement date to the extent that such review with respect to such individual is clearly documented; and (B)the authority provided under paragraph (1) may not be exercised with respect to any former career service member that was not involuntarily separated or retired— (i)during the period described in that paragraph; and (ii)as part of a reduction in force or other expedited retirement process. .
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