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WASHINGTON – Today, Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), co-chairs of the Federal Workforce Caucus, pressed the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for answers on its newly proposed 2026 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). FEVS provides federal employees an ability to respond to questions that are critical to ensuring our federal agencies can carry out their work for the American people, and it is an important tool for understanding and improving the federal workforce. However, the lawmakers question whether the Trump Administration’s proposed 2026 FEVS would make dramatic changes to the survey that could limit its usefulness and undermine its intent. These changes follow the Trump Administration’s rampant attacks on federal employees and its cancellation of the 2025 FEVS. Last year, Senator Van Hollen and Representatives Hoyer and Walkinshaw raised concerns that doing so violated federal agencies’ legal obligation to survey employees annually. While OPM is moving forward with the 2026 FEVS, the lawmakers point out that changes must satisfy the legal requirements for the survey and collect the necessary data to increase government efficiency and transparency. Given these concerns, the lawmakers pressed for answers to several questions surrounding the survey.

“For years, the FEVS has given leaders real-time insight into their organizations. This valuable workforce management tool has delivered critical perspective into leadership effectiveness, employee engagement, organizational culture, and workplace trust. This data has been relied on to better performance and create reforms,” the lawmakers wrote.

“In 2025, the federal workforce experienced dramatic and, in many cases, illegal changes. According to OPM’s own data, approximately 317,000 employees left the federal government in 2025. The Pew Research Center noted that the federal workforce decreased by 10.3% in 2025. While the FEVS is critical in any year to fulfill statutory requirements and help improve the civil service, it is deeply concerning that in a year of significant change that this survey was cancelled.,” they continued.

The lawmakers note, “You have indicated that FEVS 2026 will be changed to focus on micro-level responses. As you know, the employee survey is mandated by law and federal regulations mandate specific questions. Specifically, Section 1128 of Public Law 108-136 (5 U.S.C. 7101 note) requires that federal agencies conduct an annual survey of its employees to assess leadership and management practices that contribute to agency performance and employee satisfaction, pursuant to OPM regulations. Critically, such regulations in Title 5 Part 250, Subpart C of the Code of Federal Regulations mandate that agencies conduct the annual workforce survey with 16 core questions before December 31 of each calendar year.”

They went on to seek answers to the following:

1. Please provide a copy of the FEVS 2026 questions.

2. Will all sixteen questions required for agencies under 5 CFR Part 250, subpart C be

included in the 2026 FEVS?

3. Will agencies retain the ability to add their own questions to the FEVS?

4. Does OPM plan to change how it administers the FEVS and to whom?

5. With OPM’s announcement about the relaunch of FEVS, what is the agency’s planned timeline to administer the 2026 survey?

6. Will the results be released publicly? And when?

7. Is OPM collecting results of agency pulse surveys to identify any governmentwide areas of concern, opportunity, or trends?

In addition to Senator Van Hollen and Representatives Hoyer and Walkinshaw, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.-08), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas-30), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.-03), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.-05), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio-01), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-08), April McClain Delaney (D-Md.-06), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-At Large), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.-10), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.-07), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12).

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Director Kupor,

We write to follow up on the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) cancellation of the 2025 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and to ensure that the newly proposed 2026 FEVS provides needed transparency and complies with statutory requirements. As you know, the FEVS is not only an essential tool for improving the federal workforce, but this survey also supports congressional oversight of executive branch activities as they relate to federal employees and fulfills the agencies’ legal requirement to survey their employees.

For years, the FEVS has given leaders real-time insight into their organizations. This valuable workforce management tool has delivered critical perspective into leadership effectiveness, employee engagement, organizational culture, and workplace trust. This data has been relied on to better performance and create reforms.

In 2025, the federal workforce experienced dramatic and, in many cases, illegal changes. According to OPM’s own data, approximately 317,000 employees left the federal government in 2025. The Pew Research Center noted that the federal workforce decreased by 10.3% in 2025. While the FEVS is critical in any year to fulfill statutory requirements and help improve the civil service, it is deeply concerning that in a year of significant change that this survey was cancelled.

When the U.S. Senate was considering your nomination to be the Director of OPM, you expressed that: “In the organizations I have been affiliated with, I have always conducted regular employee engagement surveys (typically once per year, but sometimes more often when there are more changes happening in the organization)”. Given your own admission of the importance of employee surveys during organizational changes, we are particularly concerned by the decision to cancel the FEVS for 2025. The lack of transparency during a period of significant change is incredibly troubling.

You have indicated that FEVS 2026 will be changed to focus on micro-level responses. As you know, the employee survey is mandated by law and federal regulations mandate specific questions. Specifically, Section 1128 of Public Law 108-136 (5 U.S.C. 7101 note) requires that federal agencies conduct an annual survey of its employees to assess leadership and management practices that contribute to agency performance and employee satisfaction, pursuant to OPM regulations. Critically, such regulations in Title 5 Part 250, Subpart C of the Code of Federal Regulations mandate that agencies conduct the annual workforce survey with 16 core questions before December 31 of each calendar year.

Given the critical importance of the FEVS and your announced changes to the survey, we request detailed explanations to the following questions to ensure that the FEVS 2026 survey provides valuable insights and complies with the law.

1. Please provide a copy of the FEVS 2026 questions.

2. Will all sixteen questions required for agencies under 5 CFR Part 250, subpart C be

included in the 2026 FEVS?

3. Will agencies retain the ability to add their own questions to the FEVS?

4. Does OPM plan to change how it administers the FEVS and to whom?

5. With OPM’s announcement about the relaunch of FEVS, what is the agency’s planned timeline to administer the 2026 survey?

6. Will the results be released publicly? And when?

7. Is OPM collecting results of agency pulse surveys to identify any governmentwide areas of concern, opportunity, or trends?

Thank you for addressing our concerns regarding the cancellation of the 2025 FEVS and the impact of the newly proposed 2026 FEVS on transparency and agencies’ legal obligations.

Sincerely,

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