The United States Congress has taken a significant step toward ending the twice-yearly clock change after the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Sunshine Protection Act with an overwhelming 48-1 vote. The bill, introduced by Florida Republican Vern Buchanan, was included in a larger transportation funding package and would make daylight saving time permanent across the country if signed into law.
President Trump expressed strong support for the legislation, saying it is time that people can stop worrying about the clock, not to mention all the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous twice a year production. The presidential endorsement is expected to boost the bill's chances of passing the full House and eventually reaching the Senate for consideration.
However, sleep scientists and health experts are sounding the alarm about the potential consequences of choosing permanent daylight saving time over permanent standard time. Dr. Karin Johnson, a neurology professor at UMass Bay State and vice president of the nonprofit Save Standard Time, told FOX News that Congress is getting the science exactly backwards.
The science is really clear. We do want to end clock changes because there are certainly harms that occur, especially after the spring change, Dr. Johnson explained. But what a lot of people do not realize is we actually have harms that last throughout the entire daylight savings time period. Studies now show that we are at risk for increased rates of obesity and stroke and heart attacks and cancer and suicide.
Dr. Johnson argued that aligned sunlight, where the sun is overhead as close to noon as possible, is essential for healthy circadian rhythms. When we set the clocks an hour later, it makes us want to stay up later and get up later, she said. But our social schedules do not move later. We still need to get up for work and school, creating a chronic misalignment between biological and social clocks.
The Save Standard Time nonprofit has urged Congress to instead adopt permanent standard time, arguing that it would protect sleep, boost productivity and benefit the economy. The organization claims that permanent daylight saving time would be worse for public health than the current system of switching clocks twice a year.
The debate over clock changes has been a recurring issue in American politics for decades. A previous version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 but failed to advance in the House. With strong presidential backing and a decisive committee vote, supporters say this time could be different, though the scientific community remains deeply divided over which time standard the country should adopt permanently.