In rarely seen unity, the US Senate unanimously agreed to approve the bill in a voice vote. The House of Representatives has held a committee hearing on the bill, and will have to decide whether or not to let The Sunshine Protection Act pass before it can head to US President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
Americans lost an hour of their day on Sunday to Daylight Savings, which will resume standard time in November, but on Tuesday the US Senate approved to do away with that time change for good.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the bill’s proponents, says making Daylight Savings permanent could decrease crime, child obesity, and help Americans who are battling seasonal depression. He adds that it’s difficult to keep kids outside and playing sports longer when it gets dark out earlier.
“For these 16 weeks a year, if you don’t have a park or an outdoor facility with lights, you’re basically shut down at 5 p.m. In some places as early as 4, or 4:30 p.m.,” stated Rubio, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Daylight Savings, which was first first adopted over 100 years ago in 1918, and after harboring criticism and change following WWI, was re-instituted in 1942 by former US President Franklin Roosevelt. It gained permanency in 1966 as a way to save energy and reduce the use of electric light. That effort was flawed by a consequent spike in the use of air conditioning.
While some state representatives filed bills last year in an effort to make Daylight Savings permanent in their states, states actually have to receive Congressional approval so that times do not differ across the nation.
Thus far, 15 states, including Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Oregon, and Tennessee have all passed bills to make the pesky time change permanent, but must wait for federal approval before they can touch their clocks.
“I’m hoping that after today, [the bill] will go over to the House, they’ll act quickly on it. I know it’s not one of the most important issues confronting America, but it’s one of those issues where there’s a lot of agreement. And I think a lot of people wonder why it took so long to get here,” said Rubio.
“The good thing is that if we can get this passed, we don’t have to keep doing this stupidity anymore ... pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come,” he added.
According to the Florida senator, if The Sunshine Protection Act succeeds in the House and gets its stamp of approval from Biden, the change would take effect in November 2023, so as to best correspond with “the airlines, the rails, transportation methods, [and] others, [who] have already built out schedules based on the existing timeline.”
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