America Just Moved One Step Closer To Ending Clock Changes

The twice-a-year ritual of changing your clocks may soon become a thing of the past.

A bipartisan bill backed by President Donald Trump that would make daylight saving time permanent advanced Monday after clearing the House Rules Committee, setting up a vote before the full House.

The committee approved the rule governing the Sunshine Protection Act by a 6-4 vote. If enacted, the legislation would allow states to observe daylight saving time year-round while giving them the option to opt out.

Trump has urged Congress to end the biannual practice of changing clocks. After the bill advanced out of committee, he wrote that it was time for Americans to stop worrying about “the Clock” and called the current system a “ridiculous, twice-yearly production.” He also described permanent daylight saving time as “the far more popular alternative” and encouraged Republicans to support the measure.

Supporters of daylight saving time argue that ending the twice-yearly clock change could reduce some of the health and safety problems associated with the spring transition. Research cited by the American Heart Association has found increases in heart attacks and strokes in the days after clocks move forward.

A University of Colorado Boulder study found a 6% increase in fatal car crashes during the following workweek. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said Americans overwhelmingly support ending the practice. Bill sponsor Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said permanent daylight saving time could improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, and encourage outdoor activity.

The bill previously cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May by a 48-1 vote. About 20 states have already enacted laws that would allow them to adopt permanent daylight saving time if Congress authorizes the change. Hawaii and most of Arizona are the only states that currently do not observe daylight saving time.

Opponents, including several medical organizations and some lawmakers, contend that permanent standard time would better align with the body’s natural circadian rhythm because it provides more morning sunlight. They have also pointed to Congress’s decision to end the nation’s brief experiment with year-round daylight saving time in 1974 after public opposition.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) unsuccessfully sought to amend the legislation to make standard time permanent nationwide instead, arguing that permanent daylight saving time would force more Americans, particularly schoolchildren, to travel in darkness during winter mornings. 

If the House approves the Sunshine Protection Act, it would mark the latest congressional effort to end the seasonal clock changes after a similar bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 but ultimately stalled in the House.