H.R. 5053 — Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act of 2025

This section exempts the workforce at public shipyards—including welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, radiological technicians and engineers, engineers and engineer technicians, apprentices, positions supporting workforce development pipelines, nuclear maintenance and refueling, mechanics, painters and blasters, infrastructure maintenance and operations, and Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program implementation, as well as other public shipyard positions—from hiring freezes or workforce reductions related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or employee probationary status. This section does not restrict the Secretary of Defense's authority to manage the Department of Defense workforce under existing procedures for misconduct or poor performance.