US lawmakers revive bill to end daylight saving time permanently

U.S. lawmakers are attempting to revive a proposal (once again) that would make daylight saving time permanent year-round.

Dig deeper:

The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted on Thursday in favor of the Sunshine Protection Act.

The vote came out at 48-1, according to a Reuters report.

The bill was included in a larger transportation funding package called the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act. It was introduced by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.

What they're saying:

"Ending the clock change is a commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans. I want to thank Chairman Guthrie and Subcommittee Chairman Bilirakis for advancing my longstanding legislative priority today and look forward to it becoming law," Buchanan said in a news release on Thursday.

President Donald Trump supports the measure and praised it on social media, saying,

"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," Trump said.

States such as Hawaii and most of Arizona would be exempt from the bill since they observe standard time all year. Additionally, states can opt out if the bill ever passes.

What's next:

The bill still needs to pass the full House before it gets sent to the Senate. 

The other side:

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark, is a stark opponent to the bill, citing that students would be going to still when it’s dark and penalizing employees on the morning shift "who need the sun to work."

"An extra hour in winter for the resorts of south Florida, the beautiful golf courses in southern Alabama and across Florida, or deep-sea fishing in the Gulf of America or the Atlantic would be welcome by many of the residents of these communities. As for my friends from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have you ever spent a winter in Boston or Providence? The sun disappears there barely after 4:00 p.m. Little wonder they’ve joined the effort. These senators represent states that overwhelmingly benefit from year-round Daylight Savings Time because of their latitude and longitude," Cotton wrote on his official website in 2025. 

What is daylight saving time? 

The backstory:

Daylight saving time is defined as a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of standard time. According to federal law, it always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

The practice of springing forward in the U.S. started in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. By moving the clocks ahead an hour, backers believed the country could divert a bit of coal-fired electricity to the military instead of using it for an hour of home power. It was reenacted in World War II.

It was repealed again when the war ended, but some states — and even some cities — continued to observe daylight saving time while others kept standard time year-round. That meant driving relatively short distances could result in a time change.

By 1966, airlines and other businesses tired of such quirks and pushed Congress to pass the Uniform Time Act. It codified daylight saving time, although it has been modified periodically.