House Passes Sunshine Protection Act 308-117 to Make Daylight Saving Permanent
Article excerpt
For the first time in its history, the House of Representatives voted 308 to 117 on Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent year-round, sending the Sunshine Protection Act to a Senate that blocked nearly identical legislation just last fall. The margin was overwhelming but not unanimous: 22 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against the bill, a reminder that the bipartisan irritation with twice-yearly clock changes does not translate into universal agreement on the fix. President Trump has backed the measure, giving it White House momentum that similar efforts in prior Congresses lacked. Supporters argue that locking the clocks would align waking hours with peak daylight during the times Americans are actually out and active, cutting down on the groggy mornings and early sunsets that follow November's fall-back. The Senate is now the decisive arena. Last fall it let a comparable bill die without a floor vote, and it is not yet clear whether Trump's endorsement or the House's lopsided tally changes that calculus. If the bill clears Congress and is signed into law, Americans would never again change their clocks, ending a ritual that has been part of national life since World War I. The name alone, Sunshine Protection Act, signals how its sponsors have chosen to sell it: not as a wonky time-zone adjustment but as something closer to a public good.
The U.S. House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill backed by President Donald Trump that would make daylight saving time permanent year-round, sending the legislation to the Senate.
The Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the twice-yearly clock changes, passed with bipartisan support in a 308, 117 vote. Twenty-two Republicans joined 95 Democrats in opposing the measure.
If enacted, the legislation would make daylight saving time permanent, keeping clocks set to the time currently observed from March through November. States could opt out only if they did so before the law took effect. Most of Arizona, Hawaii, and several U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, do not observe daylight saving time.
Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to end the practice of changing clocks. After the bill advanced out of committee, he wrote that it was time for Americans to stop worrying about “the Clock” and described the current system as a “ridiculous, twice-yearly production.”
He also called permanent daylight saving time “the far more popular alternative” and urged Republicans to support the measure, The Daily Wire reported.
Florida lawmakers rallied hard for the bill before Tuesday’s vote, arguing it better reflect the Sunshine State’s identity.
“Why in the heck are we still changing our clocks?” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) said, according to Politico. “Floridians, we are the Sunshine State. We value sunshine.”
Fellow Florida Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis backed Cammack up, adding, “This is not about politics. This is about practicality. It is about recognizing that our laws should keep pace with the people we represent.”
Other lawmakers, however, had a different point of view.
“I’m not for it,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said. “I think having kids go to school when it’s dark doesn’t make sense.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has warned that locking the clock would “push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour,” according to The Hill.
Supporters argue that eliminating the twice-yearly clock changes could reduce some of the health and safety risks associated with the spring transition. Research cited by the American Heart Association has found increases in heart attacks and strokes in the days after clocks move forward, while a University of Colorado Boulder study found a 6% increase in fatal car crashes during the following workweek.
Opponents, including several medical organizations, argue that permanent standard time would better align with the body’s natural circadian rhythm because it provides more morning sunlight.
Daylight saving time was first adopted during World War I and later standardized nationwide under the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
The legislation heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.