A House committee voted 48-1 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, reigniting the debate over permanent daylight saving time.
WASHINGTON – The debate surrounding the issue daylight saving time The issue was reignited after a House committee recently voted in favor of a bill that would make daylight saving time the new permanent standard time.
Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 48-1 in favor of the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make the change part of the five-year transportation bill.
While this bill and similar legislation have been tried and failed before, they are now facing new pressure from President Donald Trump.
“This is so important because people, cities and states are forced to change their clocks every year, costing hundreds of millions of dollars,” Trump wrote in the Truth Society post. “I will push very hard to get the Sunshine Protection Act signed into law.”
Trump has repeatedly made digs at The clock is changed every six months For years, he dropped his calls for Republicans in 2024 Cancel daylight saving time – Call it the “50-50 problem.”
In a Truth Society post on Thursday, he said it would be a “really good win” for Republicans.
“We’re embracing the more popular alternative, daylight savings time, which gives you longer, brighter days – and who can argue – it’s an easy choice,” he wrote.
This isn’t the first time changing the clock has received overwhelming support. In 2022, the Senate unanimously passed a measure to make daylight saving time permanent across the United States, but the bill did not advance.
Over the past seven years, 18 states have passed legislation or resolutions supporting year-round daylight saving time. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures. By 2025, at least 31 states are considering or still considering legislation related to daylight saving time.
However, none of these bills or laws aimed at making daylight saving time permanent can take effect until there is an act of Congress that repeals the federal law. Essentially, Congress needs to change the law to keep the U.S. on Daylight Saving Time year-round.
Why Daylight Saving Time?
This practice has been practiced in some form since World War I. It was originally introduced in Germany to save electricity and energy by extending daylight hours.
The Standard Time Act of 1918 first introduced daylight saving time to U.S. clocks. This temporary measure was once known as the “war period” The act, which ran from spring to fall, was intended to cut energy costs during World War I. The act also applied to the five time zones that still exist today.
In 1966, the Department of Transportation was created and given regulatory authority over time zones and daylight saving time. To correct confusion and alternating time zones, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 sought to standardize daylight saving time nationwide from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.
Since then, little has changed. More recently, in 2005, former President George W. Bush changed the law to extend Daylight Saving Time by a few weeks. It is now celebrated from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Even though the whole country follows it, Arizona and Hawaii do not observe daylight saving time. Under federal law, states can opt out of daylight saving time and keep standard time, but are not allowed to keep daylight saving time.
The United States has implemented year-round daylight saving time twice: once during World War II to save fuel, and once as a “trial run” during the 1974 energy crisis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
