Current:Home > ScamsPermanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality. -Wealth Empowerment Zone
Permanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality.
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:53:21
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! (7647)
Related
- Sonya Massey's family keeps eyes on 'full justice' one month after shooting
- ‘White Dudes for Harris’ is the latest in a series of Zoom gatherings backing the vice president
- Selena Gomez Claps Back at Plastic Surgery Speculation
- 3-year-old dies after falling from 8th-floor window in Kansas City suburb
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- In New York, a ballot referendum meant to protect abortion may not use the word ‘abortion’
- In New York, a ballot referendum meant to protect abortion may not use the word ‘abortion’
- Former MLB Pitcher Reyes Moronta Dead at 31 in Traffic Accident
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Can your blood type explain why mosquitoes bite you more than others? Experts weigh in.
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Not All Companies Disclose Emissions From Their Investments, and That’s a Problem for Investors
- Go To Bed 'Ugly,' Wake up Pretty: Your Guide To Getting Hotter in Your Sleep
- Coco Gauff’s record at the Paris Olympics is perfect even if her play hasn’t always been
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Massachusetts governor signs $58 billion state budget featuring free community college plan
- Why Fans Think Pregnant Katherine Schwarzenegger Hinted at Sex of Baby No. 3
- How Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, world's other gymnasts match up with Simone Biles at Olympics
Recommendation
RFK Jr. closer to getting on New Jersey ballot after judge rules he didn’t violate ‘sore loser’ law
Phoenix warehouse crews locate body of missing man 3 days after roof collapse
Olympic surfer's head injury underscores danger of competing on famous wave in Tahiti
Get 80% Off Wayfair, 2 Kylie Cosmetics Lipsticks for $22, 75% Off Lands' End & Today's Best Deals
Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
Museums closed Native American exhibits 6 months ago. Tribes are still waiting to get items back
Michigan’s top court gives big victory to people trying to recoup cash from foreclosures
American flags should be born in the USA now, too, Congress says