Bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent reintroduced in Senate
After failing to advance in the U.S. House of Representatives last year, a bill has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the United States.
When Florida Sen. Marco Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act last year, it was unanimously passed. But no action was taken when the bill was sent to the House.
On Wednesday, Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 for the 118th Congress and again has support from both Republicans and Democrats.
"This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," Rubio said in a statement. "Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get it done."
THE HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
If approved by the Senate, House and signed into law by President Joe Biden, winter evenings could be brighter by advancing time by one hour - like we will do on March 18 when Daylight Saving Time begins - and leaving it there year round instead of falling back by one hour on the first Sunday in November.
Rubio said moving to permanent Daylight Saving Time would reduce car crashes and crashes involving pedestrians, reduce the risk for cardiac arrest, stroke and seasonal depression, and benefit the economy.
Majority of Americans in favor of permanent Daylight Saving Time
There's a growing movement in the U.S. to stop the act of switching clocks back and forward every fall and spring. In 2022, a Monmouth University poll showed that the majority of Americans, about 61%, would get rid of the twice-yearly time change, while about a third want to keep the practice in place.
Most people who want a single time year-round would rather have a later sunrise and a later sunset, making Daylight Saving Time permanent. Only 13% of people polled favored keeping standard time, the period from November to March.