S.Amdt. 3584

SA 3584. Mr. VAN HOLLEN submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of title X, add the following:

Subtitle H--Foreign Service Temporary Early Retirement Authority Act of
2025

SEC. 1091. SHORT TITLES.

This subtitle may be cited as the ``Foreign Service
Temporary Early Retirement Authority Act of 2025'' or the
``FS TERA Act of 2025''.

SEC. 1092. DEFINITIONS.

In this subtitle:
(1) Department; foreign service; secretary.--The terms
``Department'', ``Foreign Service'', and ``Secretary'' have
the meanings given such terms under section 102 of the
Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902).
(2) Eligible foreign service member.--The term ``eligible
Foreign Service Member'' means a Foreign Service member who--
(A) completed 15 years of service in the Foreign Service
before the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) voluntarily or involuntarily separated from the Foreign
Service on or after January 1, 2025.
(3) Foreign service member.--The term ``Foreign Service
Member'' means an individual described in section 103 of the
Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903).

SEC. 1093. TEMPORARY FOREIGN SERVICE EARLY RETIREMENT
PROGRAM.

(a) Authorization.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and appropriate
authorities of

[[Page S5340]]

any Federal agency utilizing the Foreign Service personnel
system under section 202 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980
(22 U.S.C. 3922) shall establish a temporary Foreign Service
early retirement program in accordance with this section.
(b) Retirement for Foreign Service Members With 15 to 20
Years of Service.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary and appropriate authorities
of any agency utilizing the Foreign Service personnel system
shall--
(A) apply the provisions of section 806(a) of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4046(a)) to a Foreign Service
criminal investigator/inspector of the Office of the
Inspector General of the United States Agency for
International Development with at least 15 years of service,
but less than 20 years of service, by--
(i) removing the age requirement each place it appears in
such section; and
(ii) substituting ``15 years'' for ``20 years'' each place
such term appears in such section; and
(B) apply the provisions of section 811 of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4051) to a Foreign Service
member with at least 15 of service, but less than 20 years of
service, by--
(i) removing the 50 years of age requirement; and
(ii) substituting ``15 years of creditable service'' for
``20 years of creditable service''.
(c) Computation of Retired Pay.--The retired pay of a
Foreign Service member who retired under any provision of the
Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.) pursuant
to the authorization under subsection (b) shall be reduced by
\1/12\th of 1 percent for each full month by which the number
of months of service of the participant are less than 240
months as of the date of the Foreign Service member's
retirement.
(d) Continuation of Health Benefits.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision of title 5,
United States Code, including section 8905(b) of such title,
an individual shall be deemed to have satisfied the
requirements for continued enrollment in a health benefits
plan under chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, as an
annuitant if the individual--
(A) was separated from service in the Foreign Service
personnel system on or after January 1, 2025;
(B) is determined to be eligible for an annuity under this
section; and
(C) was--
(i) enrolled in such health benefits plan on such date of
separation; or
(ii) continuously covered through the Temporary
Continuation of Coverage Program authorized under section
8905a of title 5, United States Code, without a break in
coverage.
(2) Clarification.--For purposes of paragraph (1), a break
in coverage between separation and annuity commencement does
not disqualify an individual from eligibility for continued
enrollment in a health benefits plan under such paragraph if
such individual--
(A) was enrolled in a plan under chapter 89 of title 5,
United States Code, at the time of separation from service in
the Foreign Service; and
(B) is receiving an annuity authorized under this section.
(e) Funding.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for the
payment of retired pay in accordance with this section,
subject to the availability of appropriations or as otherwise
funded under the existing Foreign Service Pension System.
(2) Flexibility.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, Federal agencies may obligate and expend amounts that
have been appropriated by Congress for the operating expenses
of Diplomatic and Consular Programs, the United States Agency
for International Development, and other applicable
personnel-related accounts to pay for the annuities and
health benefits costs authorized under this section,
including processing applications, conducting eligibility and
legal reviews, recalculating annuities, if applicable, and
providing transition assistance and services to affected
Foreign Service members.
(f) Rulemaking.--The Secretary shall promulgate a rule that
permits any eligible Foreign Service member, regardless of
grade or skill code, to access early retirement and continued
health benefits in accordance with this section.
(g) Limitation.--The enrollment period for any eligible
Foreign Service member to participate in the temporary
Foreign Service early retirement program authorized under
this section shall expire on the date that is 12 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(h) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed--
(1) to allow oversight or administration by the Office of
Personnel Management under title 5, United States Code; or
(2) as an amendment to, or a modification of, the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 or its retirement provisions.

SEC. 1094. REPORTS.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and 1 year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a
report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives on the impact of the temporary
Foreign Service early retirement program established pursuant
to section 1093 that includes--
(1) a table of the number of Foreign Service members,
disaggregated by grade, skill code, years of service, gender,
and race, who retired under the temporary Foreign Service
early retirement program; and
(2) an assessment of the current Foreign Service staffing
levels and target staffing levels, disaggregated by grade and
skill code.
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