[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4195 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4195
To modify the voluntary retirement requirements for members of the
Foreign Service, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 26, 2025
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, 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 modify the voluntary retirement requirements for members of the
Foreign Service, 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 Foreign Service Voluntary Early
Retirement Authority Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS
OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE.
(a) In General.--Section 811 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 4051) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Any participant who is at least'' and
inserting ``(a) Any participant who is at least''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Any participant (as that term is defined in section 853) who
is not entitled to an annuity under subsection (a) of this section, or
section 609(a)(2)(B) or 808 of this Act, and who is at least 43 years
of age and has completed at least 15 years of creditable service and
who is separated from the Foreign Service or any other agency utilizing
the Foreign Service personnel system during a period in which, as
determined by the Office of Personnel Management (upon request of the
Foreign Service or such other agency), under regulations prescribed by
the Office, that--
``(1) the Foreign Service or other such agency (or if
applicable, the component in which the employee is serving) is
undergoing substantial delayering, substantial reorganization,
substantial reductions in force, substantial transfer of
function, or other substantial workforce restructuring (or
shaping);
``(2) a significant percentage of employees servicing in
the Foreign Service or other such agency (or component) are
likely to be separated or subject to an immediate reduction in
the rate of basic pay (without regard to subchapter VI of
chapter 53, or comparable provisions); or
``(3) identified as being in positions which are becoming
surplus or excess to the Foreign Service's or other such
agency's future ability to carry out its mission effectively,
shall be entitled to, on the participant's application and with the
consent of the Secretary or the head of such other agency, be retired
from the Service or other such agency and entitled to an annuity. Such
annuity shall be computed in the same manner as an annuity for an
employee under section 8415(e) of title 5, United States Code.''.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--This Act and the amendments made by this
Act shall apply to individuals involuntarily or voluntarily
separated from the Foreign Service during the period beginning
on January 20, 2025, and ending on the date of enactment of
this Act, and to individuals voluntarily separated from the
Foreign Service after the date of the enactment of this Act,
subject to the terms and conditions of subsection (b) of
section 811 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
4051), as added by subsection (a)(2) of this Act.
(2) Funding.--If amounts in the Foreign Service Retirement
and Disability Fund are inadequate to pay benefits payable
under such subsection (b), amounts in the general fund of the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated may be used to pay for such
benefits.
(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that any
individual who receives an annuity under subsection (b) of section 811
of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4051), as added by
subsection (a)(2) of this Act, shall be eligible to retain health care
benefits under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program if such
individual was enrolled in such Program on the date of separation.
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