Senate Unanimously Passes Bill To Make Daylight Savings Permanent

The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent if passed by the House and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

“There’s strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock switching has, there’s an increase in heart attacks, car accidents and pedestrian accidents,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said.

“The benefits of daylight saving time have been accounted for in the research: Reduced crime as there is light later in the day, decrease in seasonal depression that many feel during standard time and the practical one,” he added.

Nearly fifty years ago, the U.S. tried to do away with the time change. President Richard Nixon signed a bill that put the country on Daylight Saving Time for two years. When the new law went into effect in January 1974, it was met with widespread approval, but the excitement surrounding the bill died quickly at the realization that sunrise would not occur until 8 a.m., and even as late as 9:30 a.m. in some places. Congress reverted back to splitting four months out of the year back into standard time by October 1974. During Congressional sessions, Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kansas) noted that year-round Daylight Saving Time could cause hazards for school children going to school in the dark.

Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri sees it differently.

“I just think the extra hour at the end of the day consistently is better than having it dark when kids go to school and dark when kids get home,” he said.

If the bill is passed, it would not go into effect until November 2023 to allow the transportation industry time to make adjustments to their preexisting schedules.