Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 for the 118th Congress, proposing an end to changing clocks twice a year.
“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support,” Rubio said in a press release on Thursday. “This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done.”
A bipartisan group of senators from Oklahoma, Alabama, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, Mississippi, and Oregon all added statements to the release, speaking out about how they believe their constituents would benefit from the permanence of daylight saving time.
Information released by Rubio claimed that making daylight saving time permanent could have significant effects on a variety of areas. One potential benefit is a decrease in car accidents and accidents involving pedestrians, as aligning daylight hours to drivers’ work schedules can increase visibility.
It could also reduce the risk of cardiac issues, stroke, and seasonal depression. Some studies have indicated that daylight saving time has a positive impact on health, particularly in children.
The lawmaker referenced studies published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, which show that daylight saving time increases physical activity during the day, aiding in the reduction of childhood obesity and improvement of fitness.
Additionally, the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that daylight time increased pedestrian activity by 62 percent and cyclist activity by 38 percent due to the additional daylight.
The senator also cited a 2015 report by the Brookings Institution indicating another potential benefit of permanent daylight time is a decrease in the number of robberies. This is due to the additional daylight in the evenings.
The lawmaker also claimed the economy could benefit from permanent daylight time, as a study by JPMorgan Chase & Co. found a drop in economic activity of 2.2 to 4.9 percent when clocks move back.
History of the Policy
The United States introduced daylight saving time during the First World War in 1916 in response to Germany’s efforts to conserve fuel. Since then, the policy has been observed and lengthened.In 2005 Congress moved to extend daylight saving time so it would start on the second Sunday in March and terminate on the first Sunday in November, instead of the initial six-month mandate.
As a result, there are currently eight months of daylight time in the United States and only four months of standard time. (The United States has experienced year-round daylight saving time in two periods: from 1942 to 1945 and 1974 to 1975.)
The Sunshine Protection Act would prevent the conversion to standard time for those four months. If passed, the United States would experience daylight time all year rather than only eight months and would not “fall back” in November.
Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) are original co-sponsors of the legislation.
The Senate unanimously passed the measure in March 2022 and sent it to the House for action.
However, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-Calif.) never brought it up for a vote, despite reported widespread bipartisan support from lawmakers and constituents.
The Epoch Times contacted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
