The US House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan bill aiming to make daylight saving time permanent in the country. The legislation, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, is now headed to the Senate for further review. If the Senate gives its approval, the bill will then be sent to President Donald Trump for final consideration.
This proposed law seeks to establish permanent daylight saving time nationwide. States that have already opted out of observing daylight saving time, such as Arizona and Hawaii, would be allowed to stay on permanent standard time. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie emphasized that the move to make daylight saving time permanent is a response to the calls from millions of Americans who want to end the practice of changing clocks twice a year.
Advocates of the bill argue that having permanent daylight saving time would offer more daylight in the evenings, potentially enhancing road safety, promoting outdoor activities, and benefiting local businesses and the tourism sector. Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis of Florida highlighted that the current practice of changing clocks biannually is outdated and disruptive. He believes that establishing permanent daylight saving time would provide Americans with consistency and more usable daylight in the evenings.
Democratic support for the bill was also evident. Frank Pallone Jr., the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, pointed out that only a small percentage of Americans prefer the biannual clock changes. He highlighted the negative impacts of these time adjustments on sleep patterns, especially among children, and their association with increased risks of heart attacks and strokes. Pallone stressed that ending the practice of changing clocks twice a year would benefit the overall health and well-being of the population.
Research cited by Pallone from the Brookings Institution indicated a decrease in criminal incidents during the additional hour of evening sunlight following the springtime clock change. He mentioned that 19 states had already indicated their readiness to adopt permanent daylight saving time if the federal law allowed for it. Currently, under US law, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, with clocks moving forward by an hour in spring and back by an hour in autumn.
