Senate Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Permanent

March 15, 2022 by Reece Nations
Senate Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Permanent
Sunlight shines on the U.S. Capitol dome on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation that would permanently extend daylight saving time nationwide by unanimous consent on Tuesday.

The bill, entitled the Sunshine Protection Act, was sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and cosponsored by a bipartisan group of senators including Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who were original cosponsors. In total, 10 Republicans and eight Democrats signed on as cosponsors of the bill.

Rubio’s efforts to enshrine daylight saving time across the country date back to the 115th Congress in 2018, but the bill has died in committee each time. Rubio modeled the bill after a Florida state bill of the same name that passed in 2018.

The practice of setting clocks one hour forward so that evenings have more daylight was established by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which required states to observe daylight saving time at 2 a.m. local time on the last Sunday in April until 2 a.m. local time on the last Sunday in October. The law was amended several times until the Energy Policy Act of 2005 set its current timeframe, lasting from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November.

In its current form, daylight saving time encompasses 65% of the entire calendar year. Hawaii is the only state that has never observed daylight saving time after opting out of the Uniform Time Act’s provisions in 1967.

“You’ll see an eclectic collection of members of the U.S. Senate in favor of what we’ve just done here, and that’s to pass a bill to make daylight saving time permanent,” Rubio said in remarks from the Senate floor. “Just this past weekend we all went through that biannual ritual of changing the clock back and forth and the obstruction that comes with it. … I think the majority of American people’s preference is just to stop the back-and-forth changing, but beyond that, I think their preference is to just make daylight saving time permanent.”

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., has carried the identical House version of the bill during each failed attempt to pass it. This iteration of the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

Rubio and Markey jointly authored an op-ed on CNN’s website over the weekend in which they detail the rationale for the bill and the repercussions of switching between daylight saving time and standard time. The senators contend enacting permanent daylight saving time will yield economic and public health benefits.

The JPMorgan Chase Institute concluded in a study that the end of daylight saving time resulted in a reduction of daily card spending by 3.5% per capita, while the Department of Energy estimated in a report that permanent daylight saving time would lead to improved energy savings. 

Further, the National Road Safety Foundation released a study in 2019 that concluded the extra hour of sunlight during daylight saving time results in fewer car accidents and another report published in the scientific publication database ScienceDirect postulated that U.S. residents exercise more frequently during daylight saving time, thereby reducing the risk of heart problems and stroke.

In the last four years alone, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions that mandate daylight saving time year-round. However, the Uniform Time Act explicitly preempted all state laws related to daylight saving time, meaning Congress must pass legislation permitting the state legislation before their mandates go into effect.

​The bill still awaits House approval before it can move on to President Joe Biden’s desk for signing and enactment.

“Each November, the practice of ‘falling back’ an hour disrupts our lives and robs us of daylight hours to enjoy ourselves,” Whitehouse said in a written statement. “It’s time for Congress to take up this bipartisan legislation to make daylight saving time permanent and give Rhode Islanders an hour of afternoon sunshine back during the dark winter months.” 

Reece can be reached at [email protected]

A+
a-
  • Daylight Saving Time
  • Edward Markey
  • Marco Rubio
  • Senate
  • Sunshine Protection Act
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    U.S. Senate

    May 13, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Schumer Vows to Block Trump Nominees in Response to Qatari Jet Flap

    WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Tuesday that he is placing a hold on all... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Tuesday that he is placing a hold on all political nominees for positions in the Justice Department in response to President Donald Trump’s planned acceptance of a luxury jet from Qatar valued at $400 million.... Read More

    Sen. John Fetterman Raises Alarms With Outburst at Meeting With Union Officials, AP Sources Say

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting last week with representatives from a teachers union in his... Read More

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting last week with representatives from a teachers union in his home state when things quickly devolved. Before long, Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why “everybody is mad at me,” “why does everyone hate me,... Read More

    May 7, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Ed Martin’s Nomination as US Attorney Loses Favor Among Republicans

    WASHINGTON — The chances are dimming for Trump supporter Ed Martin to win Senate confirmation as the U.S. attorney for... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The chances are dimming for Trump supporter Ed Martin to win Senate confirmation as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin is currently the interim U.S. attorney. His term expires May 20. Republicans who normally endorse President Donald Trump's nominees for various... Read More

    May 4, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Schumer to Empire Wind Developer: ‘Sue. You’ll Win.’

    WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., weighed into the ongoing controversy over the Trump administration’s scuttling of the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., weighed into the ongoing controversy over the Trump administration’s scuttling of the Empire Wind offshore wind project off the coast of New York state. “I have a call into the head of the company behind the project, Equinor,... Read More

    Americans See More Overreach From the President Than From Judges, an AP-NORC Poll Finds

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump faces significant pushback from federal judges, a new poll shows U.S. adults are more likely... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump faces significant pushback from federal judges, a new poll shows U.S. adults are more likely to believe the president is the one overstepping his power rather than the courts -- although Republicans largely think the opposite. According to a poll from The... Read More

    April 23, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Dick Durbin, No. 2 Senate Democrat, to Retire at End of Term 

    WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection next year, saying in a social media post “it’s time to pass the torch.” Durbin, who is now 80, was first elected to the House of... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top