The U.S. Senate is taking a closer look at legislation that would permanently lock in daylight saving time, but the bill’s path forward remains uncertain, according to the Senate’s top Republican.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday it is not yet clear whether the daylight saving time bill can reach the 60 votes required for passage in the Senate.
“We’re looking at it. You know the House had a big vote. There’s a lot of interest in it from members on our side over here. Some for, some against,” the South Dakota Republican told reporters. When asked if he personally could get behind the bill, Thune said: “I’m from a northern clime. I voted against it in committee.”
The House of Representatives already approved the measure by a strong 308-117 vote, which would put an end to the practice of adjusting clocks twice a year — a tradition observed across most of the United States since the 1960s.
Should the bill become law, clocks would no longer be turned back to standard time each November. However, states that do not currently observe daylight saving time, or those that voted to adopt permanent standard time before the law took effect, would be allowed to opt out.
Backers of the change argue that shifting clocks twice a year disrupts sleep patterns, leads to more workplace injuries, and contributes to a rise in traffic accidents. They contend that keeping clocks set an hour ahead throughout the entire year would extend evening daylight and give the economy a boost during the winter months.
Opponents of the bill point out that making daylight saving time permanent would push winter sunrises an hour later, meaning more children would be heading to school and workers — including commuters, construction crews, farmers, and others — would be leaving for work before the sun comes up. In some areas, sunrise would not occur until close to 9 a.m. or even later during the depths of winter.
President Donald Trump has spoken out multiple times in support of ending the biannual clock changes and is a strong backer of the bill.
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a Republican, is among those opposing the measure. Cotton has argued that locking in daylight saving time year-round would result in extremely late winter sunrises and send children to school in the dark across large parts of the country.
The United States previously experimented with year-round daylight saving time during World War Two and again in 1974 as a way to cut energy consumption. That effort turned out to be widely unpopular, and Congress reversed course later that same year.
