Following Pappas’s Leadership, 2026 NDAA Text Protects Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Staff From Layoffs and Hiring Freezes

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), founding member of the bipartisan Public Shipyard Caucus and representative for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, announced that provisions enacting his bipartisan Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act were included in the text of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. 

These provisions would place a “prohibition on the use of funds from carrying out a hiring freeze, reduction in force, or hiring delay without cause at a public shipyard,” and effectively exempt the workforces of America’s four public shipyards, which are responsible for repairing and retrofitting the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers and submarines, from the Trump administrations’ unjustified hiring freezes and mass layoffs.

“America’s public shipyards are a critical component of our national defense, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard specifically is an economic engine for New Hampshire's Seacoast. The men and women of our Shipyard work every day with skill and patriotism to ensure our nation’s readiness, and their job security should never be in question,” said Congressman Pappas. “I’m glad to see these provisions enacting my bipartisan legislation included in this year’s NDAA, ensuring that Portsmouth and all of America’s public shipyards will be able to bring on the staff they need to ensure our country is strong and prepared for the future.”

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is one of just four public shipyards nationwide that maintain the US Navy’s submarine fleet. The Shipyard is also the region's largest employer. In 2023, the latest available data, more than 7,400 civilian employees worked at the base with an economic impact exceeding $1.5 billion, according to the Seacoast Shipyard Association's 2024 report. The Shipyard is currently working to hire additional workers to increase its capacity amid a $1.87 billion dry dock expansion.

Under the current administration's most recent guidelines, the Navy is currently 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.

Background:

Since President Trump took office, Pappas and the New Hampshire delegation have worked to protect civilian workers who play a critical role in maintaining U.S. national security. In February, he joined workers from PNSY to discuss the impact of the administration’s job cuts and hiring freezes, which led the Shipyard to pause hiring. In March Pappas led his House colleagues in further sounding the alarm over the Trump Administration’s hiring freeze and workforce cuts. Later that month, the U.S. Department of Defense exempted the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze.

In July the New Hampshire Congressional delegation also called on General Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to exempt critical safety roles, including firefighters and air traffic controllers, from its planned 10.7% reduction to federal civilians at the Air National Guard (ANG). More than half of the civilian employees at Pease Air National Guard Base are civilian emergency personnel and air traffic controllers, and the proposed cuts could devastate the important role Pease plays in supporting emergency services in the region, including at Portsmouth International Airport.

In August Pappas and Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) introduced the bipartisan Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act. This legislation would exempt the workforces of America’s four public shipyards from recent hiring freezes and mass layoffs. This bipartisan legislation is led in the Senate by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Angus King (I-ME). Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) is a cosponsor of the House bill. During the conference process for the FY 2026 NDAA, Pappas called on the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to include these provisions in their final bill text.