Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives James Walkinshaw (VA-11) and Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) are demanding answers from the Department of the Interior (Department) regarding its plans to relocate federal employees. The Department has said it plans to relocate the Business Integration Office (BIO) from their current office in Reston, Virginia to the Department’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. This relocation would put the BIO’s ability to carry out their mission in serious jeopardy and force dedicated federal employees out of their jobs.

The Members issued the following statement:

“Relocating BIO staff will significantly undermine the agency’s ability to serve the American people. Staff will no longer be able to seamlessly collaborate with their partner contractors in Reston, and many federal employees will likely choose to resign rather than navigate a more costly and time-consuming commute and degraded working conditions. This plan is bad for our region and bad for our country.”

Rep. Subramanyam and Rep. Walkinshaw wrote to the Secretary of the Department, Douglas J. Burgum, on June 2, 2026, raising concerns about the Department’s plans to relocate 600 employees from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) out of their Reston, Virginia headquarters to the Department’s headquarters in D.C. To date, the members have not received a response. 

This July, since learning that the Department notified 17 BIO employees that their jobs would be relocated out of the very same building to Washington, D.C. effective August 2026, the members have demanded that the Department answer how and why relocating these federal agencies are beneficial to the agency’s productivity and a responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

The letter can be found HERE.

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