Politics

House Nixes ‘Fall Back,’ ‘Spring Forward’ Landslide Vote

Screen Capture/Architect of the Capitol

The House of Representatives voted 308-117 Tuesday to pass a bill that seeks to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and put an end to switching clocks twice a year.

The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, introduced by Republican Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, is backed by President Donald Trump. However, the bill still has to pass the Senate before it reaches the president’s desk.

The bipartisan bill was supported by a majority of members from both parties. However 95 Democrats and 22 Republicans voted against it.

Buchanan praised the passage of his bill saying in a statement sent to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it is an “important step toward ending” an “outdated practice.”

“Permanent daylight saving time will improve public safety, promote healthier and more active lifestyles and give families more daylight to enjoy after work and school,” Buchanan’s statement continued. “I’m grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bipartisan effort, and I urge the Senate to send this long-overdue reform to the president’s desk.”

“The case for permanent daylight-saving time is backed by real data. Nearly half of American adults and one in five children struggle with obesity, and research shows extended daylight encourages more physical activity, especially for kids,” the congressman said in a Sunday statement to the DCNF.

However, some critics of the bill assert that a switch instead to permanent standard time would be better for Americans’ health.

“When we’re on standard time, that balance of morning and evening daylight is working in your favor,” Jay Pea, founder and president of Save Standard Time previously told the DCNF. “When we’re on daylight saving time, we have extra darkness in the morning, so it’s harder to wake up, and we have extra light in the evening, so it’s harder to fall asleep … and that over the long term has a chronic wear and tear on your mental and physical abilities.”

Republican North Carolina Rep. Pat Harrigan, who voted against Buchanan’s bill, introduced legislation Friday along with a Democratic colleague that would instead make standard time the permanent default. The competing bipartisan legislation is titled the “Sunshine for Our Kids Act.”

On Monday, the bill passed the House Rules Committee with a 6-4 party-line vote allowing it to move to the floor. A previous version of the legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent in 2022 and then stalled in the House.

The change will place most of the country permanently on daylight saving time besides a few places that already don’t change their clocks and are in year-round standard-time such as Hawaii and Pea’s home state of Arizona, according to the Washington Post.

The change will cause sunrises to be later when daylight saving usually takes place, but there will be more light in the evening.

Major support for permanent daylight saving time comes from the golf industry, which asserts that later sunset times would encourage more people to play the sport after work. Florida has the most golf courses in the country and is also where Buchanan, Trump, and several other supporters of the bill live.

States have the option to opt out of permanent daylight saving and remain on year-round standard time if they make the change before the legislation takes effect, according to the Washington Post.

“This is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their clocks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on May 21.

“We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day- And who can be against that,” Trump continued.

The U.S has already tried permanent daylight saving twice, once during World War II and once during the 1970s. After both attempts, the country reverted back to changing its clocks.

Nicole Silverio contributed to this report.