Current:Home > MyPermanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality. -AssetTrainer
Permanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality.
View
Date:2025-04-27 13:14:20
Americans are yet again preparing for the twice-yearly ritual of adjusting the clocks by an hour, and a group of politicians are sick of it.
Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have used the upcoming time change to remind Americans about the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act the U.S. Senate unanimously passed in 2022 to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023. Scott said in Friday a release the bill is supported by both lawmakers and Americans.
"It’s time for Congress to act and I’m proud to be leading the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act with Senator Rubio to get this done," Scott said.
Most Americans - 62% - are in favor of ending the time change, according to an Economist/YouGov poll from last year.
To Change or Not to Change:Do Americans like daylight saving time? 6 in 10 want to stop changing their clocks. Do you?
Only Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), Hawaii and the U.S. territories follow standard time yearound. In the rest of the country, standard time runs from the first Sunday of November until the second Sunday of March. But clocks spring forward an hour from March to November to allow for more daylight during summer evenings.
Federal law prevents states from following daylight saving time permanently.
Rubio's bill failed to make it to President Joe Biden's desk in 2022. Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, R- Brandon, introduced the act in the House last March for the current congressional session.
"We’re ‘springing forward’ but should have never ‘fallen back.’ My Sunshine Protection Act would end this stupid practice of changing our clocks back and forth," Rubio said in a Tuesday release.
Time change bills across America
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 bills have been introduced this year regarding daylight saving time and 36 carried over from the previous legislative session.
About two dozen states are considering enacting permanent daylight saving time if Congress allowed such a change. Twenty other states have legislation under consideration to have permanent standard time.
Several states, NCSL said, have legislation dependent on their neighbors following the same time change.
We've tried this before, and it didn't go well
Daylight saving time was made official in 1918 when the Standard Time Act became law, but it was quickly reversed at the national level after World War I ended, only coming up again when World War II began. Since then, Americans have tried eliminating the biannual time change, but it didn't last long.
From February 1942 until September 1945, the U.S. took on what became known as "War Time," when Congress voted to make daylight saving time year-round during the war in an effort to conserve fuel. When it ended, states were able to establish their own standard time until 1966 when Congress finally passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing national time and establishing current-day daylight saving time.
Most recently, amid an energy crisis in 1973, former President Richard Nixon signed a bill putting the U.S. on daylight saving time starting in January 1974. While the American public at first liked the idea, soon "the experiment ... ran afoul of public opinion," The New York Times reported in October 1974. Sunrises that could be as late as 9:30 a.m. some places in parts of winter became increasingly unpopular. It didn't take long for Congress to reverse course in October 1974.
Today, the public seems ready for another change, fed up with disruptions to sleep and routines, which research has suggested can contribute to health issues and even safety problems. For now, prepare to reset your clocks, and your sleep schedules, once again this Sunday.
Contributing: Celina Tebor, Emily DeLetter USA TODAY; USA TODAY Network-Florida
veryGood! (79)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Australia state visit to feature talk of submarines and tech partnerships — and a lavish dinner
- ESPN's Pat McAfee pays Aaron Rodgers; he's an accomplice to Rodgers' anti-vax poison
- Georgia’s lieutenant governor wants to pay teachers $10,000 a year to carry guns at school
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Stranded American family faces uncertainty in war-torn Gaza
- Wisconsin wildlife officials to vote new on wolf management plan with no population goal
- As student loan repayment returns, some borrowers have sticker shock
- Trump's 'stop
- Michael Cohen’s testimony will resume in the Donald Trump business fraud lawsuit in New York
Ranking
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Israel's war on Hamas sees deadly new strikes in Gaza as U.S. tries to slow invasion amid fear for hostages
- Michael Cohen’s testimony will resume in the Donald Trump business fraud lawsuit in New York
- German Cabinet approves legislation meant to ease deportations of rejected asylum-seekers
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Nashville police chief’s son, wanted in the shooting of 2 officers, found dead after car chase
- Looking for 'nomance': Study finds teens want less sex in their TV and movies
- Iranian teen Armita Geravand has no hope of recovery after controversial train incident, her family says
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Horoscopes Today, October 24, 2023
Homebuying has become so expensive that couples are asking for help in their wedding registry
5 Things podcast: Blinken urges 'humanitarian pauses' but US won't back ceasefire in Gaza
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
Venezuelan government escalates attacks on opposition’s primary election as turnout tops forecast
Why offshore wind is facing headwinds
Actor Cedric Beastie Jones Dead at 46