The House of Representatives is set to vote next week on a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, reviving a debate after a similar Senate-approved measure stalled in the House last year.
The current proposal, the Sunshine Protection Act, passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee 48-1 and includes a provision allowing states to opt out. Daylight saving time, moving clocks forward one hour for half the year, has been standard in most of the U.S. since the 1960s.
Proponents argue that the time shift causes sleep disturbances, workplace injuries, and car crashes, and also believe that brighter evenings would spur economic activity.
Donald Trump has previously advocated ending the twice-annual clock-switching, stating that it was “time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production.”
However, the bill faces opposition. Should it pass the House, the Senate would need to reconsider, where Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton warns of “absurdly late winter sunrises” and children commuting to school in darkness.
Past attempts at year-round daylight saving, including during World War Two and in 1974, proved deeply unpopular and were repealed.
Florida Republican Representative Vern Buchanan, a regular proponent since 2018, notes its popularity for extending evening outdoor activities. New Jersey Democrat Representative Frank Pallone supports it as “better for safety and will boost New Jersey’s tourism industry. Let’s stop changing the clocks twice a year.”
The upcoming vote underscores the ongoing national discussion about daylight saving time’s future.
