US Congress takes next step to make daylight saving time permanent
3 hours ago
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The US House of Representatives has voted to make daylight saving time permanent by passing the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday
With a 308-117 vote, members of both parties approved the bill, which would remove the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year and put the US under time currently observed between March and November – known as permanent standard time
Republican Scott DesJarlais, who presided over the vote, played a clip of The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun on his phone during the final count
The time-change issue has been gaining bipartisan support for years, with President Donald Trump pledging to end clock changes after he returned to the White House
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Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida, who introduced the bill in January 2025, said on Tuesday that clock changes disrupt schedules “for no good reason”
Now that the House has passed the legislation, the Senate could soon take up its version of the bill. Florida Republican Rick Scott introduced an identical piece of legislation, also called the Sunshine Protection Act, in January 2025
Since World War One, the US has set its clocks forward during the summer to have more daylight in the afternoon and to conserve electricity. The time-change is known as Daylight Saving Time (DST). Clocks roll back in the autumn each year to then follow standard time
DST, which also helped conserve fuel during the first world war, was unpopular with farmers and was repealed after the war. It returned during World War Two, and legislation standardising clock-changing across the country passed in 1966, although some states, including Hawaii and Arizona, and US territories Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, have opted out
In a May social media post, Trump said he was “going to work very hard” to see a law on time changes passed
“It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production. It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it!” he said
But critics of permanent DST have noted that it would lead to darker winter mornings, which could make driving conditions more hazardous for those on the road in early hours
Those who support keeping standard time also say there are health benefits from having more light in the morning, such as an improved sleep cycle
Only about one third of the world’s countries follow some sort of daylight saving time, and the vast majority of them are in Europe, according to the Pew Research Center
In Europe, only Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia and Turkey do not practice daylight saving time. In Africa, Egypt is the only nation with DST
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