U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would end the practice of twice-yearly clock changes, a decades-old convention that some say has outlived its usefulness.
The measure was introduced in Congress in 2018 but did not gain traction. In 2022, the Senate passed the bill, but it died out in the House.
In the U.S., Daylight Saving Time (DST) was first instituted as a temporary measure to conserve energy resources during World War I and reinstituted during World War II for the same reasons. Following World War II, some states continued to use DST, but there was little consistency in its schedule, according to History.com.
In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing DST as beginning on the first Sunday of April and ending on the last Sunday of October each year. However, the bill did not require states to observe DST, and some states, such as Hawaii and Arizona, have opted out of the practice.
Former President George W. Bush signed a bill into law that became effective in 2007, extending DST by an additional four weeks so that it begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday of November.
Whether the practice of observing DST saves energy is debatable.
A 2008 study by the Department of Energy claimed that the four-week extension of DST saved about .5% in total electricity per day, totaling 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power 100,000 households for an entire year, as CNN reported.
However, another report by the National Bureau of Economic Research claimed that even though the demand for electricity to power lights was reduced, the demand for heating and cooling increased, so the overall energy consumption remained about the same.
One thing that many people agree on, though, is that changing the clocks twice yearly is a nuisance.
“I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year – it’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that’s more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate on January 7, 2025.
He added that the bill’s passage would be a “common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.”
The bill, which has bipartisan support in the Senate, would make DST permanent. This would result in later sunrises and later sunsets throughout the winter.
“The head-spinning ritual of falling back and springing forward has a very real impact on our economy, our health, and our happiness. Let’s say goodbye to 4 pm winter sunsets and pass the Sunshine Protection Act for permanent Daylight Saving Time — permanently springing forward for brighter evenings year-round,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said in a press release.
While few have argued for the continuation of the twice-yearly clock change, some medical experts have asserted that standard time more closely aligns with the human body’s natural rhythms and should be the year-round norm rather than DST.
“The human biological clock is regulated by the timing of light and darkness, which then dictates sleep and wake rhythms. In daily life, the timing of exposure to light is generally linked to the social clock. When the solar clock is misaligned with the social clock, desynchronization occurs between the internal circadian rhythm and the social clock,” the American Academy of Sleep Medicine wrote in a position statement.
“The yearly change between standard time and daylight saving time introduces this misalignment, which has been associated with risks to physical and mental health and safety, as well as risks to public health.”
The Academy added that switching permanently to standard time would result in better sleep, less stress, and fewer automobile accidents.
The American College of Chest Physicians and the National Safety Council have raised similar arguments, Epoch Times reported.
It is unclear what position President-elect Trump will take on the discussion. In 2019, Trump made statements on social media that appeared to support permanent DST, but in December 2024, he seemed to indicate a preference for standard time, calling for the elimination of DST.