Diplomatic Reserve Corps Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create an independent Diplomatic Reserve Corps inside the Department of State to provide a trained pool of diplomatic personnel for emergencies, surge missions, and targeted diplomatic needs. It would set rules for recruitment, pay and promotion, activation and recall, retirement and disability, personnel standards, survivor benefits, and a dedicated Treasury account for Corps funding.
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- Families and survivors gain new protections and benefits. Members and eligible family members may access Federal Employees Health Benefits and Foreign Service health coverage, survivors of service-related deaths abroad can receive a death gratuity equal to one year’s salary, and education assistance is extended for terrorism-related line-of-duty deaths.
- Corps members would enter a separate personnel system with defined pay classes, step increases, promotion boards, and pension rules that apply the Federal Employees Retirement System framework. The Corps is sized to grow to 1,000 members after FY2028.
- Department operations and readiness are tightened with activation limits and oversight. Mission augmentations are capped at 25 percent of Corps strength and may run up to 365 consecutive days per mission, and a Diplomatic Reserve Corps Treasury account would fund salaries, training, and contingencies.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 6 mixed.
Appeals and Early-Release Payments
If enacted, members with active-service agreements generally could not be released without their consent and could appeal most releases to the Director General of the Foreign Service. If a member is released early without consent, the bill would provide a one-time separation payment equal to the number of months of unexpired service (any 15-day-or-greater fraction counts as a month) multiplied by one month's basic pay plus special pay and allowances. The law would exclude payments and appeal rights for certain dismissals (for example loss of security clearance, long unexplained absence, conviction leading to confinement) and other specified cases.
Calls to Service, Tax and Job Protections
If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary or President call Corps members to active service without consent in several ways: short calls up to 15 days a year; presidential or preplanned calls up to 365 days for emergencies or budgeted activities (with caps on how many can be called at once); and special emergency calls under national emergency rules (Congress-declared calls can last the emergency plus six months; President-declared calls generally up to 12 months with a 75% cap). The President could suspend promotion or retirement rules for essential members, and the Secretary could extend required retirement or separation dates by up to 90 days after a suspension ends. Corps active service would be covered by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and USERRA, and covered active service would count as employment for Social Security and be subject to FICA withholding. The bill also would bar U.S.-based calls to fill a State Department vacancy for more than 180 days.
Retirement, Disability, and RIF Rules
If enacted, most Corps members would be covered by Foreign Service retirement rules. An annuity would equal 2% × average pay × years of creditable service (capped at 35 years), where "average pay" is the highest three-year average. Members with at least five years could get disability retirement; members with fewer than five years would be terminated and may get involuntary separation pay. In reductions in force, separable members with 20 or more years would be retired; others would have appointments terminated and receive involuntary separation benefits. Members must retire at month of age 65 (with limited exceptions). Reappointment after termination generally requires repaying involuntary separation benefits plus interest.
New Corps Pay, Steps, and Bonuses
If enacted, Corps pay would follow a new nine-class schedule that matches Foreign Service ranges and pays hourly on active service. Members would move up one pay step after 156 continuous weeks, unless a board blocks advancement for poor performance. Senior members could get lump-sum performance pay under percentage caps (no more than 25% of seniors each year; up to 6% and 1% limits for larger awards). The Secretary could pay special differentials or compensatory time for heavy duties. Corps members would be excluded from Title 5 overtime pay.
Create and Fund a Diplomatic Corps
If enacted, the bill would create a Diplomatic Reserve Corps inside the State Department. The Secretary and President would run and staff the Corps, and the Corps would be separate from the Foreign Service. A new Treasury account would fund salaries, training, recruitment, travel, and other Corps costs, and money marked for a diplomatic contingency would be available until spent. The Department's Inspector General would supervise the Corps and the Secretary must run a realistic readiness exercise at least once every two years. The Secretary would recruit widely and may hire contractors to help, and Corps members assigned to headquarters would not count against existing staff limits.
Training, Selection, and Medical Readiness
If enacted, the bill would require Corps training and orientation set by the National Foreign Affairs Training Center and the Secretary. Training would cover language, human rights, diplomacy, and career development. Members would need at least 24 days of scheduled training each year (twelve 2-day periods) plus a continuous 14-day orientation, and up to 30 days of active service for training each year. The Secretary could accept unpaid volunteer services for recruitment or training. The Secretary must keep personnel records and medical/dental readiness assessments (at least every six months), and lack of medical readiness can lead to retirement or termination.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
NV • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5]
WA • R
Sponsored 3/30/2026
Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2]
SC • R
Sponsored 4/22/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov