Senator warns daylight saving time bill faces tough congressional fight

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 by 308-117 on July 14. The bill would make daylight saving time permanent and end the semiannual switch, but lawmakers remained split over whether the country should instead lock in standard time.

H.R. 139 was introduced in the House on January 3, 2025 by Rep. Vern Buchanan and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Its Senate companion, S. 29, was sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Congress.gov showed a Senate business meeting to consider the measure.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time point to commerce, recreation and energy use, while sleep and health experts have long favored permanent standard time because it tracks more closely with circadian rhythms and avoids dark winter mornings. Schools, parents and commuters have become part of the argument because the clock change affects when children leave for class and when people travel to work.

Sen. Tom Cotton has pressed the case against permanent daylight saving time by recalling January 1974, when millions of Americans traveled to work and school in darkness, commuter trains were delayed, schoolchildren carried flashlights and some children were struck by cars and killed walking to school in the dark. Congress has also held a Senate hearing titled "If I Could Turn Back Time: Should We Lock the Clock?" and a House hearing called "Daylight and Destinations: Examining Time, Travel, and Tourism."

The National Conference of State Legislatures counts more than 800 daylight saving-related bills and resolutions considered by state legislatures in recent years. Federal law still controls the national schedule, leaving Congress to choose between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time.