The Senate just voted to abolish Standard Time and make Daylight Saving Time permanent

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. If it passes through the House, Americans would no longer change their clocks twice a year.
The Sunshine Protection Act, introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) but co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, seeks to bring the entire country in line with states like Florida which have already voted to end Standard Time, which runs from November to March.
The senators sponsoring the bill explained a number of reasons to support it, including data that shows its negative health effects. Some studies have suggested permanent Daylight Saving Time could lead to fewer car accidents, lower rates of seasonal depression, and higher rates of physical activity, Rubio's press release outlined. It could potentially even boost economic activity and reduce energy usage, and would likely help employees like agricultural workers whose schedules are disrupted by time changes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Congress created Daylight Saving decades ago as a wartime effort," noted Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), arguing, "now it is well past time to lock the clock and end this experiment."
"Americans' lifestyles are very different than they were when Daylight Saving Time began more than a century ago," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) concurred.
While not everybody agrees that Daylight Saving Time is preferable, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) was certainly excited to have all her colleagues on board with the change.
Read more about why many oppose changing the clocks here at The Week.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands