The House voted 308-117 Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide, advancing a bill that would end most Americans’ twice-yearly clock changes and give states a clearer choice over whether to keep later winter sunsets or opt out.
Senate Must Decide Clock Change Bill
The Sunshine Protection Act now heads to the Senate. If it becomes law, most states would remain on daylight saving time year-round rather than “falling back” to standard time in November. That would mean darker winter mornings but later evening light across much of the country. Reuters reported on Tuesday that some areas could see winter sunrises after 9 a.m. under permanent daylight saving time.
President Donald Trump has backed the bill, saying “Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year” by people, cities and states forced to change clocks. Trump has earlier called the current system a “ridiculous, twice yearly production” and said, “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock.’”
Permanent Daylight Time Would Shift Winters
For residents in states that already observe daylight saving time, summer would look the same. The biggest shift would come from November through early March. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England would get later winter sunsets. So would Midwestern states such as Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, and western states such as Washington, Oregon and California. The trade-off is that students, commuters and early-shift workers would start more winter days in the dark.
Hawaii, most of Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands currently do not observe daylight saving time, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Those places already live on standard time year-round and would likely see little immediate change if they keep their exemptions.
States And Health Experts Remain Split
The bill could also unlock state laws that have been waiting on Congress. The National Conference of State Legislatures says federal law allows permanent standard time but not permanent daylight time, and states have introduced more than 800 bills or resolutions in recent years to stop clock changes.
Nineteen states, including Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, Utah and Wyoming, have already passed measures supporting permanent daylight saving time if Congress permits it, according to Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-Fla.) office.
The health debate remains unsettled. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports ending seasonal clock changes but favors permanent standard time, saying it better aligns with human circadian biology. Lawmakers and researchers continue to weigh competing proposals, including efforts to adopt permanent standard time and ongoing debates over the broader economic costs associated with changing clocks twice a year.
Unless the Senate acts and Trump signs the bill before Nov. 1, Americans in most states should still expect to set clocks back this fall.
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