- President Donald Trump endorsed a plan to make daylight saving time the national, year-round standard. The president said the proposal is very popular and would eliminate the inconvenience of changing clocks twice a year.
- There is a bipartisan bill in Congress to make saving time permanent.
- Opponents say an extra hour of light at night would cause dark mornings, leading to health and safety concerns.
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President Donald Trump endorsed a plan to make daylight saving time the national, year-round standard. In a post on Truth Social, he said the House and Senate should push to get more light at the end of the day.
The president said the proposal is popular and that it would eliminate a major inconvenience dealt with twice a year — changing the clocks.
Is there support for this in Congress?
There are many members of Congress who support the idea. There is a bipartisan, bicameral bill called the Sunshine Protection Act to make saving time the new permanent standard time. It would allow state governments to exempt themselves and choose their time.
“The American people are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year. It’s confusing, unnecessary and outdated,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said.
Scott said modern technology, including computers, cellphones and self-driving cars makes changing clocks unnecessary.
“Changing the clocks twice a year proves more of an annoyance to families than a benefit,” Scott said.
Downsides to the extra hour of light at night?
Opponents contend changing clocks for an extra hour of sunlight isn’t that simple.
According to Save Standard Time, a nonprofit organization, keeping clocks an hour forward year-round would force most people to start work or school in the dark during the winter. That would cause safety issues and throw off circadian rhythms.
The organization also said dark mornings can have negative health effects like depression, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.
The United States tried permanent daylight saving in 1974 in an attempt to cut back on energy use. It caused problems around the country. Schools had to change their start time because the morning commute was too dark, and eight children in Florida were killed after being hit by cars.
