15 March, Washington (Reuters) – On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that will make Daylight Saving Time a permanent fixture beginning in 2023. This initiative, which is backed by proponents of longer, sunnier days and greater economic activity, aims to stop the practice of changing the clocks twice a year. This legislation, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, was unanimously adopted by the Senate in a voice vote. Prior to President Joe Biden signing it into law, the House of Representatives must still approve it.
If Biden backs this measure, the White House has not said so. The spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, declined to say if she supports this effort but did say that she is attentively evaluating it.
Following the spring and autumn time changes, no more time changes will be made after November 2023, according to Senator Marco Rubio, one of the bill’s proponents.
Supporters claim that this modification will allow kids to play outside later and lessen seasonal sadness.
In his words, “I know this is not the most important issue facing America, but it is one where there is a lot of consensus.” “If we can finish it, we won’t have to deal with this nonsense any longer,”
He said, “Excuse my language, but it’s an idiocy whose time has come.”In a letter to Congress earlier this month, the National Association of Convenience Stores stated that “children should not be going to school in the dark.”
The majority of the United States resumed Daylight Saving Time on Sunday by setting their clocks one hour ahead. In November, standard time will be restored. Since 2015, around 30 states have proposed legislation to do away with the two-year clock modifications, some of which will only take effect if their neighboring states follow suit.
In a hearing on the subject last week, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Frank Pallone, said, “The loss of one hour of sleep impacts us for days to come. Our little ones and our pets.
Pallone has argued against eliminating time changes, although he hasn’t determined if regular time or permanently ending Daylight Saving Time is preferable.
Beth Malow, head of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division, testified during the hearing that observing Daylight Saving Time is problematic because it is the same as remaining in the incorrect time zone for nearly eight months of the year.
According to a 2019 poll, 71% of Americans prefer not to change their clocks twice a year. Pallone cited this finding.
Supporters refer to research showing a tiny rise in heart attacks and strokes shortly after the clock changes as evidence that halting the adjustments can prevent the minor increases in accidents that generally occur with time changes. They claim that this decision may be advantageous to industries that depend on longer daylight hours, such as golf facilities.
Senator Ed Markey, another well-known supporter, said, “This has real impacts on our economy and on our everyday lives.”Since its introduction as an experiment in 1918, Daylight Saving Time has been used virtually everywhere, with a revival in the 1960s. Year-round daylight saving time was utilized during World War II, and it was brought again in 1973 for energy conservation purposes. Its repeal a year later was caused by the oil embargo.
Arizona and Hawaii, which do not observe Daylight Saving Time, as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which continue to operate on standard time, would all be exempt under this law.