I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4195 
To modify the voluntary retirement requirements for members of the Foreign 
Service, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2025 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 with-
in 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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as ‘‘the Foreign Service Vol-
untary Early Retirement Authority Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT RE-
QUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE FOR-
EIGN SERVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 811 of the Foreign Serv-
ice 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 sec-
tion 853) who is not entitled to an annuity under sub-
section (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 em-
ployee 
is 
serving) 
is 
undergoing 
substantial 
delayering, substantial reorganization, substantial 
reductions in force, substantial transfer of function, 
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or other substantial workforce restructuring (or 
shaping); 
‘‘(2) a significant percentage of employees serv-
icing 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 com-
puted 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 amend-
ments made by this Act shall apply to individuals in-
voluntarily 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 
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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 sub-
section (a)(2) of this Act. 
(2) FUNDING.—If amounts in the Foreign 
Service Retirement and Disability Fund are inad-
equate 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 Con-
gress 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. 
Æ 
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