Overview
- The House is scheduled to vote next week on the Sunshine Protection Act, which the Energy and Commerce Committee approved 48-1 in May.
- The version before the full House would let states opt out of year-round daylight saving time, creating a federal rule that each state could decline to follow.
- Backers say ending the twice-yearly clock change would reduce sleep disruption, lower some workplace injuries and car crashes, and boost evening economic activity in winter, and President Donald Trump has voiced support.
- Opponents including Senator Tom Cotton warn the change would push winter sunrises much later and force many children to commute to school in darkness, and the Senate is likely to again be the key hurdle.
- The idea is not new: the U.S. tried year-round daylight saving during World War II and briefly in 1974 before repealing it, and passage could reshuffle local routines from school start times to tourism and outdoor recreation.