OPINION:
For years, Americans have asked Congress to end an outdated ritual that disrupts our lives twice every year: changing our clocks. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives finally answered that call. I was proud to manage debate on the House Floor for H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, and help secure its passage with overwhelming bipartisan support. The House voted 308 to 117 to make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide, while preserving the ability of states that choose not to observe Daylight Saving Time to remain on permanent standard time. Now, it is time for the Senate to act.
Floridians have been leading the charge on this issue for years. In 2018, Florida became the first state in the nation to enact legislation supporting permanent Daylight Saving Time, contingent upon congressional approval. Since then, the movement has spread across the country. Today, 19 states have enacted legislation to provide for year-round Daylight Saving Time — if Congress allows it. The message from the states is clear: Americans are ready to ditch the switch.
Public opinion tells the same story. Recent polling shows that only 12% of Americans support continuing our current system of changing the clocks twice each year. A majority prefer permanent Daylight Saving Time, and Americans across the political spectrum agree that it is time to stop changing the clocks. This is more than a matter of inconvenience. During a hearing I helped lead earlier this Congress as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, we examined the real-world consequences of the twice-yearly time change. We heard testimony about the potential health and safety benefits of ending these disruptions. Research has associated the clock change, particularly the loss of an hour of sleep when we spring forward, with increases in heart attacks, traffic accidents, sleep disruption and other negative health consequences. Ending the constant disruption would provide greater consistency for our bodies, our families and our communities.
Permanent Daylight Saving Time would also give Americans more usable daylight during the evening hours. That means parents have more daylight to safely pick up their children from school and attend after-school activities. Families have more opportunities to exercise and enjoy the outdoors together. Seniors and working families have more daylight to run errands. And our local restaurants, retailers and small businesses benefit when people have additional daylight to shop, dine and participate in their communities.
In Florida, we understand the value of sunshine better than most. Yet this issue extends far beyond the Sunshine State. It is about improving quality of life, reducing unnecessary disruption and finally resolving an issue that Americans have been asking Washington to fix for years. The House has done its job. We came together, Republicans and Democrats, and overwhelmingly passed a commonsense solution.
The Sunshine Protection Act now sits before the United States Senate. My message to my Senate colleagues is simple: Listen to the American people. Listen to the 19 states that have already acted. Build on the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House and send this bill to the President’s desk. Americans are tired of springing forward and falling back. It is time to ditch the switch, lock the clock and let the sunshine in.
• Rep. Gus Bilirakis serves Florida’s 12th Congressional District. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where he chairs the Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee and is also a senior member of the Health Subcommittee and the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. He also chairs the Congressional Rare Disease Caucus.
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