House Republicans revive Sunshine Protection Act on Clock
House Republicans are planning to put Sunshine Protection Act language into a larger transportation funding package, reviving a push to end the nation’s twice-yearly clock changes. The proposal would make daylight saving time permanent, while still letting some states opt out and stay on year-round standard time.
President Donald Trump has pushed Congress to pass a bill ending the clock switch, and a March YouGov survey found 64% of U.S. adults want to stop changing clocks. The same survey found 63% of adults supported ending the practice regardless of how early they wake up on weekdays.
Sunshine Protection Act and Congress
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are planning the move, which would carry the Sunshine Protection Act into the transportation package rather than advancing it as a stand-alone measure. A previous version of the bill passed the Senate in 2022 in a surprise vote, but it stalled in the House over concerns about winter mornings under permanent daylight saving time.
The current system stays in place because Congress has not agreed on a permanent standard. States can already choose year-round standard time, and Arizona and Hawaii have done so. States that want permanent daylight saving time need an act of Congress.
Trump and the clock switch
Trump has taken both sides of the issue in public comments. Last year, he wrote on Truth Social: “Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
Last March, he called it “a 50/50 issue, and if something is a 50/50 issue, it’s hard to get excited about it,” then added, “It’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way. A lot of people like it the other way. It’s very even. And usually, I find when that’s the case, what else do we have to do?”
State bills and public support
Nineteen states have already passed bills sunsetting the practice of changing clocks, but they cannot put those changes into effect without Congress. More than a dozen other states have passed or are considering bills tied to seasonal time changes, keeping the issue active well beyond Washington.
Most Americans in the March survey said they would prefer permanent daylight saving time with later sunrises and sunsets at 43%. Another 28% preferred standard time with more light in the morning and less in the evening. Most Republicans, Democrats and independents in the survey backed ending the clock switch.
For households, schools and workplaces, the practical question is which time standard Congress would settle on if the package advances. House Republicans are now trying to move that answer out of debate and into a bill, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee positioned to carry the proposal forward.
