Group of bipartisan senators reintroduces bill to make daylight saving time permanent
WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced a bill that would make daylight saving time (DST) permanent across the country.
“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said in a news release.
Rubio is one of eight senators sponsoring the “Sunshine Protection Act.” Other senators include James Lankford (R-OK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ed Markey (D-MA).
“More daylight in the evenings results in fewer car accidents & robberies. And it allows kids to play outside longer. #LockTheClock,” Rubio tweeted Wednesday.
Daylight saving time begins this Sunday and lasts until Sunday, Nov. 7. It requires most of the country to “spring” their clocks forward one hour, extending the amount of daylight at the end of each day.
Rubio’s home state of Florida enacted year-round DST in 2018, but a change in the federal statute is required for the change to apply.
Some opponents of making daylight saving time permanent suggest making standard time permanent instead.
Save Standard Time is a “nonprofit, nonpartisan, donor-funded, volunteer effort to preserve and extend the observation of geographically appropriate Standard Time.”
According to the group’s website, permanent standard time makes sleeping and waking easier, and provides “the greatest benefit” to health, immunity, safety, environment and civil liberty.
NewsNation affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.