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
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.