House Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent, Moves to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan measure that would keep daylight saving time in effect throughout the year. The bill now proceeds to the Senate, where a similar proposal stalled several years ago.

Advocates, including Scott Yates, founder of the Lock the Clock Alliance, said the House vote marks the first time the proposal has reached a floor vote, reflecting broad support from both parties. Yates noted that recent research links the biannual clock change to health risks and disruptions for schools and businesses, and he argued that eliminating the switch would benefit the public regardless of the specific time zone chosen.

Yates suggested a two-year implementation period, allowing each state to decide whether to adopt permanent daylight saving time or standard time, and to involve local stakeholders such as school boards. He referenced a 1974 trial of permanent daylight saving time, stating that later studies found no significant rise in pedestrian fatalities and that extended evening daylight could improve safety.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) opposed the measure, warning that permanent daylight saving time would push winter sunrise to after 8 a.m. for most Americans, reducing morning sunlight.

The discussion also touched on the origin of the daylight-saving myth that it benefits farmers, which Yates traced to a 19th-century retailer’s marketing claim. The bill’s future now depends on Senate deliberations and potential state-level decisions about which time standard to adopt.