A Senate version of the Sunshine Protection Act stalled last year after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., objected to fast-tracking the bill’s passage via unanimous consent in October.

Cotton said the change to permanent daylight saving time could lead to overlooked negative consequences, pointing to parts of the country where the sun wouldn’t rise until 9 a.m. or later and citing potentially dangerous, dark morning commutes and workers who would need to work early mornings without sun.

A senior Hill aide said Tuesday that Cotton has the “same concerns” he’s had about the proposal, and that several senators on both sides of the aisle have opposed the Senate version of the Sunshine Protection Act in committee. The aide said Cotton will ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., not to bring up the legislation for a vote.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said his constituents were eager for daylight saving to become permanent, but was skeptical that the Senate would pass the bill.

“I’m kind of digging the fact that we’re going to fix it, I hope,” Burchett said. “See if the Senate takes it up. They probably won’t, but we’ll see.”

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said he favors the bill, and that there are mental health aspects to take into account.

“I think it’s popular. It shouldn’t be controversial. It should be bipartisan. It saves money,” McCormick said. He cited his background as an emergency room doctor in adding that “you get more depression, you get out of joint” with the time adjustments.

Changing the clock twice a year is unpopular among Americans, according to a 2025 AP-NORC poll, but opinions about how to change the system are divided. Congress has tried to tackle the issue before, and in 2022 the Senate voted to make daylight saving time permanent by unanimous consent — a measure that failed to advance in the House.

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon signed into law a bill that would have made daylight saving time the norm for two years to conserve energy during the oil crisis, but the legislation was repealed after less than a year of having taken effect, as Americans disapproved of the dark early mornings.

Almost all states have considered legislation to stop the biannual time changes, and 19 states have enacted bills that would allow year-round daylight saving time if Congress were to do the same, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Daylight saving time was temporarily used as a wartime measure during World War I and World War II, but it wasn’t made official nationwide until the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The change made it so that clocks are advanced one hour in March and delayed one hour in November.

Arizona, Hawaii and various U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, don’t observe daylight saving time.

I feel like it would make more sense to make standard time permanent like it was before daylight savings was implemented and like it is in places that don't have it.

>>1523870
Why the fuck would you do that?

>>1523878
Trump is determined to make the worst decisions he can, and we can't stop him

>>1523875
this would work. businesses can adjust the workday if people want more after and evening time in nicer weather.
other countries do this and it works. in very hot countries, business hours are mornings and evenings and most everything shuts down in the afternoon.

>>1523896
>>1523875
People have forgotten this was attempted two times before but was extremely unpopular and was repealed.

>>1523870
Naturally it was fucking Florida, the least-affected state, pushing this. The far-north will be looking at fucking 9AM sunrises thanks to this shit.

>>1523908
>The far-north will be looking at fucking 9AM sunrises thanks to this shit.

my 9 yr old child was run down in darkness at 8 am on her way to school.
she lived a 10 minute walk away from the school literally two blocks.

a MAGAer with a sign in his pick up window saying "don't tread on me" ran her down.
My grandparents came from Mexico but I was born here and so is my granddaughter.

>>1523870
this is a good thing even the most one sided brainwashed democrat voter has to admit that

>>1523950
How?

>>1523870
[Laughs in Arizona]