Current:Home > reviewsPermanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality. -Wealth Empowerment Academy
Permanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality.
View
Date:2025-04-18 17:20:28
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! (42795)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Beyoncé's new album will be called ‘Act II: Cowboy Carter’
- Trump seeks delay of New York hush money trial as Supreme Court weighs presidential immunity
- Stanford star, Pac-12 Player of the Year Cameron Brink declares for WNBA draft
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Bob Saget's widow Kelly Rizzo addresses claim she moved on too quickly after his death
- Beyoncé Just Revealed the Official Name of Act II—And We’re Tipping Our Hats to It
- Bachelor Nation’s Sydney Hightower Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With NFL Star Fred Warner
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Standout moments from the hearing on the Biden classified documents probe by special counsel Hur
Ranking
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Jamie Lee Curtis Shares Glimpse at Everything Everywhere All at Once Reunion at 2024 Oscars
- Mississippi Senate votes to change control of Jackson’s troubled water system
- Romanian court grants UK’s request to extradite Andrew Tate, once local legal cases are concluded
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Private utility wants to bypass Georgia county to connect water to new homes near Hyundai plant
- Details of Matthew Perry's Will Revealed
- Trump seeks delay of New York hush money trial as Supreme Court weighs presidential immunity
Recommendation
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
Prince William Attends Thomas Kingston’s Funeral Amid Kate Middleton Photo Controversy
Prince William Attends Thomas Kingston’s Funeral Amid Kate Middleton Photo Controversy
The View's Whoopi Goldberg Defends Kate Middleton Over Photo Controversy
'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
Four astronauts from four countries return to Earth after six months in orbit
A new generation of readers embraces bell hooks’ ‘All About Love’
African American English, Black ASL are stigmatized. Experts say they deserve recognition