Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act of 2025
The Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act of 2025 would prohibit hiring freezes or workforce reductions at public shipyards (and any other positions at a public shipyard not specifically excluded) that arise due to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or the probationary status of employees. In effect, it guarantees job stability for a broad set of public shipyard personnel, including skilled trades, engineers, nuclear maintenance staff, apprentices, and those supporting shipyard infrastructure and modernization programs. The bill preserves the Department of Defense’s authority to address misconduct or poor performance under existing procedures, but otherwise restricts budget-driven workforce reductions at public shipyards. If enacted, the measure would aim to safeguard shipyard readiness and continuity of operations, particularly for nuclear maintenance and major modernization efforts, while potentially limiting managerial flexibility to adjust staffing in response to budget changes.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on workforce reductions and hiring freezes at public shipyards related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or probationary status, for all positions at such shipyards unless otherwise exempted.
- 2Definition of “workforce at public shipyards” includes: welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, radiological technicians/engineers, engineers/engineer technicians, apprentices, roles supporting workforce development pipelines, nuclear maintenance/refueling, mechanics, painters/blasters, infrastructure maintenance/operations, and roles supporting the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program.
- 3The exemption also covers any other positions at a public shipyard not listed in the defined category, effectively extending protection to most or all public shipyard staff.
- 4Retains DoD authority to manage workforce for misconduct or poor performance under existing procedures; the act does not alter accountability for performance issues.
- 5Short title: The act is named the “Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act of 2025.” Introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2025, sponsored by Sen. Shaheen with Sen. Collins, Sen. Hassan, and Sen. King, and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.