ICYMI: Shaheen Secures Exemption to Protect Public Shipyards in Annual Defense Bill

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a top member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, secured the Protecting Naval Shipyards (PNSY) Act in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was advanced out of the U.S. Senate. This legislation will exempt the employees from all four public shipyards from the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) civilian hiring freeze and any future hiring freezes or reductions in force. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a key economic driver in New Hampshire and the surrounding region, supporting thousands of jobs integral to America’s national security; and the Shipyard needs to hire almost 700 workers a year to keep up with maintenance on our Navy’s fast-attack submarine fleet.

“The work at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to maintain and overhaul nuclear fast-attack submarines is an essential component of our national defense,” said Senator Shaheen. “This provision will ensure that our nation’s four public shipyards can continue to get submarines to the Navy on time without the misguided workforce policies that created uncertainty and chaos over this past year. I look forward to seeing this bipartisan legislation head to the President’s desk.”

After calls from Shaheen and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the U.S. Department of Defense claimed to have exempted the shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze. After Navy Secretary Phelan visited Portsmouth in April, at the request of Shaheen, Collins and Angus King (I-ME), the Senators sent a letter to OPM urging the agency to process personnel that have been hired and are awaiting onboarding into jobs in order to implement the Navy’s exemption. Shaheen then secured Secretary Hegseth’s commitment to investigate these hiring delays during his annual budget testimony – but delays still exist today. This legislation will address this needless bureaucracy once and for all.

Senator Shaheen has long advocated for New England’s shipbuilding industry and workforce, including through authorizing funding and workforce development for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. In the Committee-approved FY26 NDAA, Shaheen secured full authorization for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) investments at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. She also secured a number of other provisions to increase capacity at the Shipyard and improve quality of life.

Click HERE to view the national security and New Hampshire priorities Senator Shaheen secured in the NDAA.

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