The House of Representatives last week approved the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 in a 308-117 bipartisan vote, sending the measure to the Senate. President Trump has indicated he will sign it if it reaches his desk, marking the first time the chamber has successfully passed a bill to make daylight saving time (DST) permanent. Previous efforts stalled in the House or expired after Senate passage.
But the celebration over ending biannual clock changes may be premature. The bill faces significant headwinds, and critics argue that a one-size-fits-all approach ignores stark regional differences. A 1973-1974 experiment with permanent DST during the oil crisis was initially popular but quickly abandoned after parents protested children waiting for school buses in darkness, citing safety risks.
Today, polls show the public is divided between permanent DST and permanent standard time, creating political peril for lawmakers who risk alienating half their constituents. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has backed a competing bill, the Sunshine for our Kids Act, which would make standard time permanent while allowing states to opt for year-round DST. That legislation echoes the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which let states like Indiana, Arizona, and Hawaii choose year-round standard time.
Currently, DST covers about eight months of the year, with standard time for the remaining four. Since 1975, the country has gradually shifted toward more daylight time, but the impact varies widely: southern states like Florida, Louisiana, and Texas see minimal disruption, while northern states like Maine, Washington, and Alaska experience dramatic seasonal shifts. East-west location within a time zone also matters. Boston, on the eastern edge of the Eastern time zone, would see sunrise around 8 a.m. under permanent DST, but Indianapolis, on the western edge, would not see dawn until after 9 a.m. Similarly, Chicago, on the eastern side of the Central time zone, would fare better than Boise, Idaho, on the western edge of the Mountain time zone.
This geographic disparity virtually guarantees widespread unhappiness, which may explain why the current system has endured. The author, Sheldon H. Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, proposes a compromise: shift clocks by 30 minutes and leave them there permanently. Under this plan, clocks would fall back 30 minutes one last time on November 6, 2026. Proponents of permanent DST would gain extra evening daylight in summer, while standard time advocates would get more morning light in winter—and the twice-yearly clock changes would end.
Jacobson argues that moving beyond the binary choice requires lawmakers to act decisively before the 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027. Without action, he warns, the cycle of competing bills and legislative gridlock will continue. The proposal offers a middle ground that could satisfy both camps, but whether Congress can muster the political will remains an open question.
For more on the history of failed attempts, see Why Year-Round Daylight Saving Time Has Stalled in the US Before. Meanwhile, health experts have raised concerns, as detailed in Why Permanent Daylight Saving Time Faces Opposition from Health Experts.
