House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The same bill was passed by the Senate in 2022, but failed to win House approval at the time.

The U.S. Capitol building at sunrise in Washington on Jan. 16, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation that would end the biannual daylight saving time clock changes in the United States permanently.

For Americans, that will mean an end to losing an hour of sleep once a year, and would allow clocks to remain permanently on daylight saving time rather than reverting to standard time in November.

The House passed the legislation, dubbed the Sunshine Protection Act, in a 308–117 vote, sending it to the Senate for approval.

“For decades, Americans have been asking a simple question: Why are we forcing families, businesses and communities to adjust their schedules every spring and fall?” Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a co-sponsor of the bill, said during floor debate on the bill.

“The twice-yearly clock change is a relic of the past that no longer reflects the way Americans live, work and conduct business in the 21st century.”

Democrats also rose in support of the bill, including Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

Pallone said the Sunshine Protection Act “addresses an issue on which many Americans actually agree, and that’s stopping the biannual process of changing our clocks. Only 12 percent of Americans prefer to switch their clocks twice a year. Far more Americans recognize that the practice is inconvenient and, frankly, disruptive.”

In 2022, the Senate passed legislation in a unanimous vote that also would have ended the biannual time change; however, that bill failed to gain traction in the then-Democrat-controlled House, and had no guarantee of winning President Joe Biden’s approval.

But this time, the White House has openly backed the bill, describing it as a common-sense measure.

Historically, Americans have lost—or gained—an hour of sleep as the clocks shifted between standard time, which lasts from November to March, and daylight saving time, which lasts from March to October.

During daylight saving time, mornings tend to be darker, but there is more light later into the evening.

Critics of the measure have noted its potential impact on Americans who have to wake up and go to work early, saying that this change would leave such Americans commuting without any sunlight during the winter months.

However, at present, the legislation seems to be on track to land on President Donald Trump’s desk, unless the bill faces unexpected opposition in the Senate.

The 2022 measure was supported at the time by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a leading progressive Democrat in the upper chamber.

“It has real repercussions on our economy and our daily lives,” Markey, who cosponsored the 2022 version of the legislation, said at the time.