This Act may be cited as the Protecting Public Naval Shipyards Act of 2025.

(a) In general The workforce at public shipyards and any other positions at a public shipyard not specified in subsection (b) shall be exempt from any hiring freezes or workforce reductions related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or the probationary status of employees. (b) Workforce at public shipyards defined In this section, the term workforce at public shipyards includes any of the following positions at a public shipyard: (1) Welders. (2) Pipefitters. (3) Shipfitters. (4) Radiological technicians and engineers. (5) Engineers and engineer technicians. (6) Apprentices. (7) Positions supporting a workforce development pipeline. (8) Positions supporting nuclear maintenance and refueling. (9) Mechanics. (10) Painters and blasters. (11) Positions supporting maintenance and operations of infrastructure. (12) Positions supporting implementation of the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program. (c) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed to restrict the authority of the Secretary of Defense to manage the workforce of the Department of Defense under existing procedures in cases of misconduct or poor performance.