Senators Shaheen, Hassan, Collins and King Introduce New Bipartisan Bill to Protect Shipbuilding Workforce, Codify Hiring Freeze Exemption Senators Advocated For
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and Co-Chair of the U.S. Senate Navy Caucus, Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced the Protecting Public Naval Shipyards (PNSY) Act to exempt the workforces of America’s four public shipyards, like the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, from recent hiring freezes and mass layoffs. The Senators’ new bipartisan bill ensures that the maintenance and overhaul of America’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet continues uninterrupted by requiring the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to exempt certain positions at public shipyards from workforce reductions.
“Our shipyard workforce represents an essential component of our national defense and preparedness – they should have never been subjected to this administration’s ill-considered hiring freezes,” said Senator Shaheen. “The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workforce is supposed to be exempt from the hiring freeze, but there continues to be issues with implementation. Our bipartisan bill enshrines that exemption in federal law and ensures that no public shipyard is subjected to such chaos and uncertainty in the future, allowing them to focus instead on the vital role they play in our national security.”
“The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a critical hub that helps power our economy and protect our national security,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan bill will ensure that important naval operations continue without disruption by exempting public shipyard employees from the chaotic mass firings, workforce reductions, and hiring freezes directed by the Trump Administration. I will always stand up for legislation that helps keep America safe, secure, and free.”
“Our nation’s public shipyards depend on a highly skilled and experienced workforce,” said Senator Collins. “At Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, workers set the gold standard for repairing, retrofitting, and refueling our nation’s nuclear submarines. This bipartisan bill would protect the men and women at PNSY, and at all four of our nation’s public shipyards, helping sustain the critical contributions these shipyards make to our national defense, the readiness of our Navy, and the economies of their surrounding regions.”
“Our commitment to our national security relies on continued, sustainable investments in our shipyard workforce — not a reckless hiring freeze,” said Senator King. “Portsmouth Naval Shipyard plays a critical role in keeping our country safe, but there has been a lack of follow-through on the unprovoked employment pauses and mass layoffs there, so we are elevating this issue to legislation in order to maintain our nation’s safety and security, as well as the livelihoods of the men and women who power the shipyard. The Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act will ensure the public shipyard workforce stays exempt from further pauses, empowering our shipyards to focus on defense unfettered by irrational hiring policies.”
The Senators’ Protecting PNSY Act would require DoD to exempt positions at the public shipyards from workforce reductions that are critical to maintenance of our submarine fleet and that support the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). The bipartisan bill also removes hiring limits for these positions.
Click HERE to read the bill text.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard needs to hire 550 personnel every year to meet the Navy’s demand for maintenance and overhaul for the submarine fleet. Under current administration personnel management policies, the Navy is limited to hiring no more than 1,550 external personnel across all naval institutions each month – far too few to meet the demand of America’s public shipyards.
After calls from Shaheen and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the U.S. Department of Defense exempted the shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze – but issues persist in its implementation. Shaheen, Collins and Angus King (I-ME) recently visited Portsmouth Shipyard with Navy Secretary Phelan, and subsequently sent a letter to OPM urging the agency to process personnel that have been hired and are awaiting onboarding into jobs. Shaheen secured Secretary Hegseth’s commitment to investigate these hiring delays at a recent SASC hearing.
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.
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