A Permanent Daylight Savings Is Being Pushed By U.S Senators Again

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Arlette Saenz/ABC News

Senate legislation passed during the spring of 2022 would have made daylight savings time permanent starting in 2023.

Bipartisan senators announced Friday they will try again by introducing a new bill to make daylight saving time permanent and end the twice-a-year clock change.

Reuters reports,

In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023.

But Congress could not come to agreement and the bill was never voted on in the House of Representatives.

Since then, there has been little movement. However, on Friday, senators led by Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation, just ahead of the resumption of daylight saving time at 2 a.m. on Sunday. A companion measure was again introduced in the House by Representative Vern Buchanan.

“The antiquated biannual ritual of toggling between times isn’t just an inconvenience – it also has very real impacts on our economy, our energy consumption, and our health,” Markey said.

Rubio said: “We’re ‘springing forward’ but should have never ‘fallen back.’”

Advocates say keeping the clocks the same in autumn encourages children to play outside later and reduces seasonal depression. The opposition, however, argues that many children would have to go to school at night.

Many lawmakers favor ending clock-switching but are unsure whether daylight or standard time should be used.

The two-yearly changing of clocks has been challenged in about 30 states since 2015, with some proposing the change only if neighboring states follow suit.

We could all use a little bit more sleep.




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