House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee are reportedly planning to propose adopting legislation to make daylight saving time permanent, which would end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year.
Once again, lawmakers are trying to push forward the Sunshine Protection Act, a measure that would extend daylight saving time – which typically begins in March and ends in November, the Washington Post reported first.
For years, some lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have sought to make daylight saving time permanent to give Americans an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day, a widely preferred practice according to an AP/NORC poll.
While legislation has faltered in the past, President Donald Trump revitalized energy toward making daylight saving time permanent last year
“The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in April.
The Independent has asked the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for comment.
“Addressing Daylight Saving Time has been a priority for a number of members for a while now,” Matt VanHyfte, the director of communications for the committee, said in a statement to the Washington Post.
“The Committee held a hearing last November and heard testimony that an extra hour of sun at the end of the day boosts economic activity, and there is evidence that changing time is a highway safety concern, with a surge of traffic fatalities occurring the week following time changes. The Committee led legislation that extended DST in 2007, and is examining ways to further address it now,” VanHyfte said.
The committee reportedly plans to add the Sunshine Protection Act to a larger transportation-related legislative package. Should the Republicans all agree to add it to the package, it could advance to the House floor later this week, the Washington Post reported.
Most people prefer daylight saving time because it’s associated with extra sunlight in the evening during the warmer months, when the sun rises earlier in the morning. But if it were to be extended year-round, it would mean even less light in the morning when the sun rises later.
Some lawmakers have vehemently opposed such an act, saying it would disproportionately impact people living in northern states or the Midwest.
“For many Arkansans, permanent Daylight Savings Time would mean the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8:00 or even 8:30 a.m. during the dead of winter,” Senator Tom Cotton said in October on the House floor.
“Americans in northern states and on the western side of time zones would be even worse off. For instance, the sun wouldn’t rise until nearly 9:00 o’clock during winter in Seattle. In Grand Rapids, the sun would rise as late as 9:15 a.m., and in Williston, North Dakota, they would not see the sun ‘till almost 9:45 a.m.,” Cotton added.
The closest the Sunshine Protection Act came to fruition was in 2022, when then-Senator Marco Rubio introduced it. While it passed in the Senate by unanimous consent, meaning no senators opposed it, the legislation did not advance in the House and eventually died.
It was reintroduced in both the House and Senate in 2023 but failed to make significant movement.
