No more switching clocks: US House votes to make daylight saving time permanent

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country if it becomes law. The move has reignited a long-running debate over changing the clocks twice a year.

On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 308-117 in favour of the Sunshine Protection Act, sending the proposal to the Senate.

If it clears the Senate and receives President Donald Trump's signature, Americans would no longer set their clocks back each November, effectively keeping daylight saving time in place throughout the year.

The bill would still allow individual states to opt out of year-round daylight saving time. Hawaii and most of Arizona already do not observe daylight saving time under existing law.

Trump has repeatedly endorsed ending the twice-yearly clock changes, arguing that they create unnecessary costs and inconvenience.

Celebrating the bill's progress earlier this year after it cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 48-1 vote, the President said governments and citizens spend millions of dollars annually adjusting to the time changes and described the practice as outdated.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year by people, cities, and states being forced to change their clocks,” he said in a Truth Social post on May 22.

“It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘clock,’ not to mention all the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production," he added.

The daylight saving time issue has surfaced repeatedly in Congress over the past several years.

In 2022, the Senate unanimously approved a similar proposal, but the House never brought it up for a vote.

Another bipartisan attempt in 2025 also failed after Republican Senator Tom Cotton blocked it from passing through unanimous consent.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that eliminating the clock changes would reduce sleep disruption, workplace injuries and traffic accidents linked to the seasonal shift.

They also contend that having more daylight during evening hours in winter could encourage shopping, recreation and other economic activity.

WHAT IS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Daylight saving time, under which clocks are advanced by one hour during the warmer months, has been observed across most of the United States since the 1960s.

The country has experimented with year-round daylight saving time before.

It was adopted during World War II and briefly reintroduced in 1974 during the energy crisis in an effort to reduce fuel consumption.

However, the policy proved unpopular, particularly because of darker winter mornings, and Congress repealed it within months.

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