Congress's push for permanent daylight saving time isn't new
Congress is weighing permanent daylight saving time, but it's far from the first push to end twice-yearly clock changes.
On July 14, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow states to enact year-round daylight saving time. It now heads to the Senate, where its future is unclear. Daylight saving time is the practice of setting clocks forward an hour from March through November to gain more sunlight during the summer months.
First enacted as a fuel cost-saving measure during World War I, daylight saving time eventually became federal law under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, according to the Department of Transportation.
However, Congress has considered permanent daylight saving time in the past, even enacting it at one point in the 1970s.
Here's a look at past pushes.
Congress passed permanent daylight saving time in 1970s. What happened?
After the Uniform Time Act of 1966, Congress enacted permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s.
In 1973, Congress passed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, which required permanent daylight saving time for a two-year trial period through April 1975.
It came under criticism from parents of school-aged children and construction industry workers, who were not fond of the early morning darkness, according to a 1974 newspaper article in the Eugene Register-Guard.
"The experiment ... ran afoul of public opinion," The New York Times reported in October 1974.
Public approval for the law dropped from 79% in December 1973 to 42% in February 1974, the Times reported.
The law was repealed in 1975, before the trial period was up.
More pushes for permanent daylight saving time in recent years
Lawmakers have, over the years, pushed for permanent daylight saving time, though none of their efforts have been successful.
Most recently, in 2022, the Senate approved a bill introduced by then-Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for permanent daylight saving time, but the measure died in the House.
Some states can opt to exempt themselves from daylight saving time under the federal law. Daylight saving time is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and most of Arizona, according to the Department of Transportation.
Daylight saving time bill heads to the Senate
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, introduced, passed the House after years of failed efforts in Congress to reform daylight saving time.
The legislation – which passed in the House 308-117 – will now head to the Senate. If it clears Congress's upper chamber, it will go to President Donald Trump's desk for him to sign into law.
Trump has expressed support for permanent daylight saving time, most recently calling the clock change a "ridiculous, twice yearly production" in a May Truth Social post.
"I am going to work very hard to see The Sunshine Protection Act signed into Law. It's time that people can stop worrying about the 'Clock,'" he wrote.
What does making daylight saving time permanent mean?
If permanent daylight saving time becomes law, Americans would no longer adjust clocks for "spring forward" in March and "fall back" in November.
In turn, it would prompt later sunrises and sunsets during a significant portion of the year.
Supporters, like Buchanan, argue that permanent daylight saving time would have positive health impacts. Critics, such as the group Airlines for America, say that it would have major implications for travelers.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress's push for permanent daylight saving time isn't new