H.R. 9730: Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act of 2026

This bill would change the rules for rehiring certain former career members of the U.S. Foreign Service.

What it does

• It creates a special reappointment authority for former career Foreign Service members who were involuntarily separated or retired because of a reduction in force or another expedited retirement process.
• This applies only to people separated or retired between January 20, 2025, and January 31, 2030.
• If a person meets those conditions and was in good standing at the time they left, the Secretary of State could reappoint them without making them take written or oral exams or meet other threshold qualification tests that would normally be required.

How “good standing” is defined

• For this bill, a former member is considered to have been in good standing if, in the five years before leaving, they did not receive any low rankings, so long as those evaluations are clearly documented.

Limits on who qualifies

• The special rehiring rule would not apply to people who left voluntarily.
• It would also not apply to people whose separation or retirement was not part of a reduction in force or expedited retirement process.

Relevant Companies

None found