Some members of the House of Representatives are speaking about the Senate’s recent vote in favor of making daylight saving time permanent, a move that might be popular with some Americans, but isn’t popular with everyone.
It’s not clear when, if at all, the House will vote on the legislation as members look to resolve other, more pressing issues.
As The Daily Wire reported, “The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in what many say will make short winter days better with an extra added hour of sunshine in the afternoon.”
Members from both parties reportedly immediately stated their support for the move, although they seemed to be somewhat surprised by the quick passage through the upper chamber.
“I think it just caught us all by surprise that the Senate actually produced something and sent it to us. Usually — usually bills go the other way,” Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA), told reporters early Wednesday, per The Hill.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told The Hill she is in favor of getting rid of the time shift, “[b]ut she wouldn’t provide further details about when the House could take up the matter, particularly with leaders working with the administration to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the outlet noted.
“We didn’t realize they were acting so quickly and dispositively of it,” Pelosi said. “I, myself, support making daylight saving time permanent. I think it’s not going to be much of an issue for us. But we have to socialize it in our caucus, and our Congress, not just the caucus.”
She quickly noted that legislators also have “important work to be doing.”
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was the leading sponsor of the measure and pushed the House to act quickly on the proposal. Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is pressing for the legislation in the House.
“It’s time to end the antiquated practice of changing our clocks twice a year, which is why I’m leading a letter to Speaker Pelosi calling for immediate consideration of my bill with Sen. Rubio, the Sunshine Protection Act,” Buchanan said.
Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) also pushed for quick moves on the proposal. On Wednesday afternoon, Donalds said, “The funny thing about this place is we have the ability and the capacity to handle multiple issues at one time.”
“The members, for the most part, have thought about these issues for a very long time. We can lean on some of these issues. So, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to obviously be focused on Ukraine” while also taking up the daylight saving time proposal and other measures, Donalds added.
Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD) said “it could pass very quickly” if Pelosi acts on the legislation.
Other members were not as eager.
Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) said Wednesday, “I’m really thinking about dying people and I’m thinking about what’s going on in Ukraine. We just had the president here. I don’t give a damn about what people think about it,” in reference to the Senate-passed legislation.
“To be candid, it’s not been on my radar. We got other things that have been more front and center,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) told The Hill on Wednesday afternoon, adding legislators remain “focused on Ukraine,” after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent speech to Congress.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said, “Everybody seems to be very concerned about this, and I understand that. There could be some urgency to it. But it’s not like something’s gonna happen. We’re gonna have daylight saving time at least until November, I guess,” adding, “So, it’s not like if we don’t act today we’ll either lose an hour or gain an hour tomorrow.”