# 119-hr-9728: Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act

119-hr-9728, Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-6] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9728
- As of: 2026-08-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9728
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-6] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: International Affairs
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-08

## Summary

**Limits on mass layoffs in the U.S. diplomatic workforce.** This bill would cap large reductions in force, require advance notices and congressional briefings, and tighten how Foreign Service RIFs are decided. - Foreign Service officers and covered employees would face a 50-employee cap per six months on separations, making large-scale layoffs harder. - Procedural fairness: RIF retention would be decided mainly by prior selection board rankings, with tenure, language skills, and military preference considered. Employees would get at least 120 days' advance notice of separation and access to grievance review by the Foreign Service Grievances Board with powers like the Merit Systems Protection Board. - Agency leaders would have to submit detailed justifications and brief the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees before exceeding the cap. Agencies must also give 30 days' written notice and briefings before significant changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large] (D-DE), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16] (D-TX), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] (D-CA), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Limits on mass layoffs at diplomatic agencies: benefit, medium. This bill would prohibit covered agencies from separating more than 50 employees in any six‑month period by a reduction in force. An agency could exceed 50 only after it sends a detailed explanation to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee and briefs those commi…
- Notice before major State manual changes: benefit, low. This bill would require the Secretary of State to give written notice to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee at least 30 days before any significant change to the Foreign Affairs Manual takes effect. The Secretary would also have to brief those committees abou…
- New RIF rules for Foreign Service: mixed, medium. This bill would change how Foreign Service reductions in force work. It would allow the Secretary to separate career and career‑candidate Foreign Service members for reasons like reorganization or shortage of funds. If affected, members would generally get 120 days advance notice of separation, and…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-9728 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9728)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9728 (as of 2026-08-08).