THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH-APRIL 2026 63 AFSA NEWS FY26 NDAA Includes State Department Authorization Act for Fifth Straight Year For the fifth consecutive year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a State Department Authorization Act, reinforcing Congress’ continued engagement with foreign affairs policy and the Foreign Service workforce. The Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA became law on December 18, 2025, after receiving bipartisan support in both chambers. This year’s State Department Authorization Act is a significantly scaled-back version of the package originally advanced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in September 2025, which consisted of nine separate bills. Instead, the final product reflects a compromise between the Senate-passed NDAA and three bipartisan House bills focused on political affairs, management, and public diplomacy. Given concerns earlier in the process that partisan executive actions could be codified into statute, AFSA generally welcomes this narrower bipartisan approach. The legislation codifies key State Department bureaus and their corresponding under secretaries and assistant secretaries, as well as the schools responsible for training members of the Foreign Service. It also authorizes an assistant secretary for human resources, with statutory language clarifying that the role is not intended to conflict with or duplicate the responsibilities of the Director General of the Foreign Service. AFSA strongly supports several provisions included in the final bill, including codification of the Veterans, Pickering, Rangel, and Payne Fellowships; extension of overtime pay authorization for Diplomatic Security protective services; and a fix to the HAVANA Act that moves eligibility for Foreign Service members back to September 11, 2001. This change, for which AFSA has advocated over multiple years, provides parity for the Foreign Service with other federal employees affected by qualifying anomalous health incidents. The State Department Authorization Act includes numerous provisions directly affecting the Foreign Service. Members are encouraged to consult AFSA’s policy update newsletter for detailed analysis. Key Foreign Service–related sections include: • Sections 5133–5136: Authorization of the Veterans, Pickering, Rangel, and Payne Fellowships. • Section 5172: Support for congressional delegations. • Section 5173: Notification requirements for authorized and ordered departures. • Section 5175: Establishing and expanding the Regional China Officer program. • Section 5177: Notification of intent to reduce personnel at covered diplomatic posts. • Section 5178: Extension of reporting requirements on Foreign Affairs Manual changes. • Section 5201: Report on vetting of Foreign Service Institute language instructors. • Section 5202: Secretary-level approval requirement for eliminating long-term training. • Section 5204: Assessment of options for comprehensive evaluations. • Section 5205: Job-share and part-time employment opportunities. • Section 5206: Promoting reutilization of language skills. • Section 5508: Reauthorization of overtime pay for protective services. • Section 5602: Quarterly report on diplomatic pouch access. • Section 5604: HAVANA Act payment eligibility date extension. n OPM Clarifies Remote Work Exceptions New guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides important clarification for Foreign Service families affected by return-to-office policies. Under the guidance, U.S. Foreign Service spouses who are already working under an approved remote work agreement due to a Foreign Service member’s overseas assignment may remain remote, provided the arrangement is not a Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) agreement. In addition, although not explicitly covered by OPM’s February 12, 2025, memorandum, agencies may grant limited exceptions allowing employees with existing remote work agreements to remain remote if they are married to another federal employee working in the same geographic area as the remote worksite. To view the full memo, visit https://bit.ly/OPMtelework. n NEWS BRIEF
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