The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, advancing a yearslong effort to end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the lower chamber with strong bipartisan support in a 308-171 vote and will now head to the Senate. The upper chamber previously passed a similar measure in 2022, but the House didn’t take up the proposal at the time. President Donald Trump has also backed the idea of making Daylight Saving Time permanent, calling on Congress to “push hard for more daylight at the end of the day.”
Under federal law, states can currently opt to stay in Standard Time year-round, rather than jumping forward an hour each March for Daylight Saving Time and falling back again each November, like most of the country does. Hawaii and most of Arizona have already taken that option to stay in Standard Time permanently.
But states are not permitted to remain in Daylight Saving Time year-round, despite a number seeking to do so—and even though more Americans tend to favor the hour-forward setting.
Read More: The States That Don’t Observe Daylight Saving Time—and the Ones Trying to Stay in It Permanently
The bill the House passed on Tuesday would change that. The legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by Trump, would make permanent Daylight Saving Time the norm across the U.S., while also giving states the choice to opt out of it.
Daylight Saving Time, during which the sun appears to rise and set an hour later, is intended to better align the times when people are most active with the daylight. But it’s rife with controversy. Most countries don’t observe it, and though the majority of Americans support ending the cycle of changing the clocks twice a year, they’re a little more split on whether they’d like to stay in Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time: according to a recent survey, 43% of Americans said they would prefer permanent Daylight Saving Time, whereas 28% said they would prefer permanent Standard Time.
Read More: How Daylight Saving Time Could Change Under Trump
Backers of the Sunshine Protection Act have argued that Americans are tired of changing their clocks twice a year, and that making Daylight Saving Time permanent would encourage people to go outdoors more, as well as reduce traffic accidents and instances of crime.
“I’ve advocated for this change for years because it’s clear that year-round daylight saving time is a popular, commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans,” Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican who introduced the bill this year, said in a statement before the House voted on the measure. He has proposed a version of the measure regularly since 2018.
The U.S. has tried to make Daylight Saving Time permanent before—in 1974—but the move was not popular and ended up being repealed less than a year later. In the few months when the law was in effect, many people were getting up and traveling to their jobs or schools when it was still dark outside, since the sun seemed to be rising later in the morning.
Sleep experts have criticized the idea of making Daylight Saving Time permanent. While they support ending the biannual clock change, they advocate for making Standard Time permanent instead because, they argue, that would align best with people’s circadian rhythms and ultimately improve health and safety.
Many states are poised to jump at the chance to stay in Daylight Saving Time if the bill the House passed becomes law, however. Lawmakers in states including Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas have passed legislation or resolutions in recent years in an effort to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, though they have so far not been able to adopt the change without congressional approval.
Hence then, the article about house passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( House Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent )
Also on site :
- How US commerce secretary's Epstein links were uncovered by British whistleblower
- Can Tire Tracks Be Seen on Bottom of Lincoln Reflecting Pool?
- Coffee Mate Brings Back Harry Potter Creamers With Magical New Flavor Fans Are Dying to Get Their Hands On