America

Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent

March 16, 2022
Henry Club

The Senate passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent – meaning the US would never have to change its clocks again when it is passed in the House

  • The Sunshine Protection Act will make daylight savings permanent in 2023
  • The bill was led by Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse and Republican Marco Rubio.
  • “It’s time to brighten up the coldest months with an extra hour of afternoon sun,” the Whitehouse wrote in a tweet.
  • Rubio said the move could help reduce crime, childhood obesity and depression
  • The measure still needs approval from the House of Representatives and the support of President Biden
  • Surveys Show Most Americans Don’t Want to Keep Changing Watches

By Reuters

Published: , Updated:

managing committee Tuesday passed a bill to make daylight savings permanent from November 2023, and will now go to vote in the House.

The new law, called The Sunshine Protection Act, meant that Americans would stop changing their watches twice a year, which was first adopted in 1918.

The bill was led by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and his Republican Coworker blonde frameThose who have said the move could reduce crime, childhood obesity and stress.

“It is time for Congress to adopt our bipartisan legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and to illuminate the coldest months with an additional hour of afternoon sun,” the Whitehouse wrote. Twitter,

The measure still requires approval from the House of Representatives and the support of President Joe Biden.

On Sunday, most of the United States resumed daylight saving time, moving forward an hour. The United States will resume standard time in November 2022.

The Senate has passed a bill to make daylight savings permanent through November 23, and will now vote in the House. The bill was led by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and his Republican aide Marco Rubio (above).

‘No more dark afternoons in winter. Don’t lose an hour of sleep every spring. We want more sunshine during our most productive waking hours’, Senator Patty Murray said on the Senate floor after the bill was passed.

Rubio said after input from airlines and broadcasters that supporters agreed the change would not happen until November 2023.

He also introduced studies that showed switching back the clocks increased heart attacks and car accidents, and claimed the new move could reduce crime, childhood obesity and seasonal depression.

Rubio said that in some parts of the U.S. it becomes really difficult to keep kids outside to play sports and participate in other outdoor activities when it first gets dark.

‘For these 16 weeks a year, if you don’t have a park or an outdoor facility with lights, you basically shut down at 5 p.m. Somewhere till 4 or 4.30,

Rubio said on the Senate floor that its passage favors ‘this is an eclectic collection of members of the United States Senate that we just did here’.

“Last weekend we went through that biennial ritual of turning the clock back and forth and the disruption that comes with it,” he said.

‘Why do we keep doing this? It actually started in 1918 as a practice which was supposed to save energy.’

‘Since then we’ve adjusted – today daylight saving time, which started as six months, was extended to eight months in 2005, showing you clearly what people’s priorities were,’ he said. said.

‘We’re doing it back and forth clock-changing for standard time of about 16 weeks a year. I think the priority for most Americans is just to stay back and forth.

Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

In November 2021, a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 25 percent of Americans say they prefer to switch back and forth between standard and daylight saving time, when the sun rises. And summer sets in an hour later. than it would be during standard time.

Forty-three percent of Americans say they would like to see the standard time used throughout the year.

Thirty-two percent say they would like daylight saving time to be used throughout the year.

On Sunday, most of the United States resumed daylight saving time, moving forward an hour. The United States will resume standard time in November 2022. The new law, called The Sunshine Protection Act, meant that Americans would stop changing their watches twice a year, which was first adopted in 1918.

On Sunday, most of the United States resumed daylight saving time, moving forward an hour. The United States will resume standard time in November 2022. The new law, called The Sunshine Protection Act, meant that Americans would stop changing their watches twice a year, which was first adopted in 1918.

Daylight saving time: an American ritual since 1918 that has sparked fierce debate across the country

What is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time is the process of setting clocks back one hour during the spring so that evening daylight hours are longer during the day while later sunrise hours are shorter.

The origins of daylight saving time are generally considered to go back to the ideas of William Willett, an English builder who in 1907 introduced the modern concept of daylight saving time to enjoy extra daylight in the summer months and save money. was proposed as a method.

Willett lobbied the British Parliament extensively but ironically died shortly before Germany adopted it, UK and many other European countries in 1916 and elsewhere in the years that followed.

Which states do not participate in DST?

Although most parts of the United States observe daylight saving time, it is not practiced in Arizona (except for Navajo tribal lands), Hawaii, and the United States states of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana. . island.

What year was daylight saving time introduced in America?

Daylight saving time was adopted in the United States in 1918, but was repealed in 1919 due to the end of World War I and its widespread unpopularity among the American public, although states and cities had the option to follow , if they choose it.

President Franklin Roosevelt restored daylight saving time from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.

Due to confusion over whether some states and cities would continue to observe daylight saving time in the coming years, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to establish uniform daylight saving time in each time zone, exempting those states, who had opted to remain on standard time. Since then, it has been observed by most of the states in the country.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Daylight Saving Time

Proponents of DST say that adding an extra hour of sunshine in the evening prompts people to get out of the house and do something active, therefore helping with health and fitness levels, as well as the need for less artificial light. As does an increase in the consumption of vitamin D. This also saves on energy cost.

However, studies have shown that in modern society, energy costs actually increase due to the expanded use of air conditioning units and computers.

But the biggest argument against daylight saving time is that it disrupts our body clock or circadian rhythm, which can be dangerous in some cases. The risk of heart attack increases when DST starts, while an extra hour of darkness has also been linked to depression.