House Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Year-Round

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 308-117 on July 14, 2026, to pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill making daylight saving time permanent year-round. Supported by President Donald Trump, the bill aims to end the twice-yearly clock changes. However, critics, including medical groups and northern lawmakers, warn that darker winter mornings will disrupt circadian rhythms and create hazardous commutes for schoolchildren, pointing to a failed 1974 experiment.

House permanent DST bill passage

• ▪The United States House of Representatives voted 308-117 on July 14, 2026, to pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 to make daylight saving time permanent
• ▪The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 was sponsored by Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida and has the backing of President Donald Trump
• ▪The White House urged lawmakers to support the Sunshine Protection Act in an internal memo sent to congressional offices on July 14, 2026

Health risks from darker mornings

• ▪Stanford professor Jamie Zeitzer stated that darker mornings and brighter evenings under permanent daylight saving time weaken the human circadian clock
• ▪Opponents of permanent daylight saving time argue that darker winter mornings would increase road hazards and safety risks for schoolchildren commuting in the dark
• ▪Representative Nanette Barragán opposed the bill, supporting instead the Sunshine for Our Kids Act to make permanent standard time the default nationwide

Business economic effects

• ▪Jay Karen, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, testified that losing evening daylight could cost the golf industry $1.6 billion in green fees
• ▪Proponents argue that longer evening daylight hours would boost tourism, outdoor recreation, and local economies

State opt-out provisions

• ▪Nineteen United States states have already passed state-level legislation to establish permanent daylight saving time if federal law permits it
• ▪The Sunshine Protection Act allows states and areas currently exempt from daylight saving time, such as Arizona and Hawaii, to remain on permanent standard time

Previous federal DST attempts

• ▪The United States Senate passed a similar measure to make daylight saving time permanent in 2022, but the bill stalled in the House of Representatives
• ▪The United States briefly adopted year-round daylight saving time in 1974 to combat an energy crisis, but Congress reversed the decision after public backlash