Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9728 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9728

  To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to modify the requirements
   relating to reductions in force for Foreign Service officers and
        certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2026

  Mr. Bera (for himself, Mr. Olszewski, Ms. McBride, Ms. Norton, Ms.
  Escobar, and Mr. Quigley) introduced the following bill; which was
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to modify the requirements
   relating to reductions in force for Foreign Service officers and
        certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Protecting America's Diplomatic
Workforce Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY AND JUSTIFICATIONS FOR SIGNIFICANT
              REDUCTIONS IN FORCE.

    (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), during any
6-month period, a covered agency may not separate more than 50
employees from service pursuant to 1 or more reductions in force.
    (b) Requirements.--A covered agency may separate more than 50
employees from service pursuant to 1 or more reductions in force during
a 6-month period only if, before carrying out the reduction in force
that would cause the covered agency to violate subsection (a), the
covered agency--
            (1) not later than 20 days before submitting a notice of
        the reduction in force to affected employees, submits to the
        appropriate congressional committees of jurisdiction a detailed
        explanation of the reduction in force that includes--
                    (A) the steps the covered agency has taken to
                exhaust all other options before carrying out the
                proposed reduction in force, including whether the
                covered agency considered reassigning the employees to
                an equivalent position;
                    (B) the justification for the reduction in force;
                    (C) an assessment of whether the proposed reduction
                in force will negatively impact the covered agency's
                ability to carry out its mission and obligations
                required by statute;
                    (D) an assessment of how the proposed reduction in
                force will affect United States diplomatic presence and
                engagement and the United States ability to compete
                with adversaries; and
                    (E) with respect to employees in the civil service,
                information about how the covered agency has complied
                with--
                            (i) subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 5,
                        United States Code; and
                            (ii) part 351 of title 5, Code of Federal
                        Regulations (or any successor regulation); and
            (2) briefs the appropriate congressional committees of
        jurisdiction on the justification for the reduction in force
        and the other criteria described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. FOREIGN SERVICE REDUCTION IN FORCE PROCEDURES.

    (a) In General.--Section 611 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 4010a) is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary may conduct reductions in force
for the separation of members of the Service holding a career or career
candidate appointment under chapter 3 for reasons such as
reorganization or shortage of funds.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) (as amended)
        as subsections (f) and (g), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
        subsections:
    ``(b) Competitive Area.--The competitive area for a reduction in
force shall be worldwide, with employees of the same rank and cone or
specialist competing against each other for retention.
    ``(c) Criteria.--Reduction in force procedures shall be designed to
ensure that determinations are based primarily on performance as
determined by previous selection board rankings. Tenure of employment,
language capabilities, and military preference, subject to section
3501(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, shall also be considered.
    ``(d) Required Notice.--Absent unforeseen circumstances, members of
the Service shall be given 120 days advance notice of separation. In no
case shall members be given less than 60 days advance notice.
    ``(e) Protections.--Members of the Service shall be afforded the
same protections afforded to career members of the civil service under
section 3503 of title 5, United States Code, in the event of a transfer
of function.''; and
            (4) in subsection (g), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by
        striking ``Grievances under chapter 11'' through ``of this
        section'' and inserting ``The Foreign Service Grievances Board
        shall have the same authority as the Merit Systems Protection
        Board to adjudicate reduction in force grievances.''.
    (b) Management Rights.--Section 1005(a)(3) of the Foreign Service
Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4105(a)(3)) is amended by striking ``, and to
prescribe regulations for the separation of employees pursuant to such
reductions in force conducted under section 611''.

SEC. 4. NOTICE PERIOD REQUIRED FOR REDUCTIONS IN FORCE.

    The notice period for a reduction in force pursuant to section 3502
of title 5, United States Code, at a covered agency shall be 60 days.

SEC. 5. PRIOR CONSULTATION AND BRIEFING REQUIREMENTS FOR SIGNIFICANT
              CHANGES TO THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANUAL.

    Section 5318(c) of the Department of State Authorization Act of
2021 (22 U.S.C. 2658a(c)) is amended by inserting at the end of the
following:
    ``(d) Notice; Consultation; Briefing.--Before effectuating any
significant changes in the Foreign Affairs Manual, the Secretary of
State shall--
            ``(1) provide notice to, and consult with, the appropriate
        congressional committees in writing, not later than 30 days
        before such changes are scheduled to take effect; and
            ``(2) provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional
        committees regarding the proposed changes.''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
        Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign
        Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
                    (A) the Department of State;
                    (B) the United States Agency for International
                Development;
                    (C) the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
                    (D) the United States International Development
                Finance Corporation;
                    (E) the Peace Corps;
                    (F) the Foreign Agricultural Service within the
                Department of Agriculture;
                    (G) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
                within the Department of Agriculture;
                    (H) the Foreign Commercial Service within the
                Department of Commerce;
                    (I) the United States Trade and Development Agency;
                and
                    (J) the United States Agency for Global Media and
                its networks.
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