The US Senate has unanimously passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent across the nation. The Sunshine Protection Act still has to face a vote in the House, but if it's eventually passed that would mean an end to changing the clocks twice a year -- and a potential end to depressing early afternoon darkness during winter.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who reintroduced the bill in 2021, said Tuesday that permanent daylight saving time will help prevent pedestrian accidents, reduce crime and decrease seasonal depression and childhood obesity.
The bipartisan bill is "common sense," according to co-sponsor Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.
"Springing forward and falling back year after year only creates unnecessary confusion while harming Americans' health and our economy," Wyden said last year. "Making daylight saving permanent would give folks an hour back of sunshine during the winter months when we need it most."
Daylight saving time this year began on Sunday and is set to last until Nov. 6. The bill delays the implementation of permanent daylight saving time until November 2023 to give airlines and railways time to adjust their schedules.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has previously argued for the reverse, saying in a 2020 study that public health and safety would benefit from daylight saving time being eliminated altogether.
"Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle," said the study's lead author, Dr. M. Adeel Rishi. "Daylight saving time results in more darkness in the morning and more light in the evening, disrupting the body's natural rhythm."
