President Donald Trump is backing a renewed effort to make daylight saving time permanent, casting the proposal as both a convenience for the public and a cost-saving move for governments and businesses. The push gained traction after the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced a larger measure that includes the Sunshine Protection Act in a 48-1 vote.
Trump highlighted the issue in a Truth Social post on Thursday, saying the country spends “Hundreds of Millions of Dollars” each year changing clocks and that the process is especially expensive for cities and states with clocks mounted in towers. He also framed the measure as a political advantage for Republicans, while arguing that Americans want “more daylight at the end of a day.”
What the proposal would change
The legislation would end the twice-yearly switch between standard time and daylight saving time. Supporters say keeping daylight saving time in place would eliminate the disruption of clock changes and reduce the work needed to reset timepieces across the country.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said in a Thursday release that the Sunshine Protection Act was included in an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which the committee marked up and sent to the House floor. His office also said the proposal has 32 bipartisan cosponsors in the House.
Bipartisan support is building
The Senate version, S. 29, was introduced by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Buchanan’s office said it has 18 bipartisan cosponsors. That support suggests the issue has continued to draw interest from lawmakers in both parties, even though the federal debate over time changes has remained unresolved for years.
Trump has been pressing Congress on the issue for some time. In a post last year, he urged lawmakers to deal with what he described as an unnecessary and costly system of changing clocks twice a year.
States would not be forced to join
The proposal would not require a state that currently does not observe daylight saving time to begin doing so. That detail matters because any federal change would still leave room for states that already stay on standard time to keep that approach.
Trump’s latest comments place the issue back in the spotlight as Congress weighs whether to move away from seasonal clock changes. For now, the proposal continues to advance through the legislative process with support from lawmakers who say ending the clock shifts would be simpler, cheaper, and more popular with the public.
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