Senate votes to make daylight saving time permanent, but some push back on the idea

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would make “springing forward” and “falling back” a thing of the past.

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The Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate with a unanimous vote, making daylight saving time the permanent time for the United States beginning in 2023.

While the legislation passed the Senate, it must still pass in the House before being signed into law by President Joe Biden. Neither House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, nor the White House has indicated whether they support the idea.

Daylight saving time is a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of standard time. In November, clocks are set back an hour as standard time begins.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued a statement following Tuesday’s vote, saying the move to have a one-time system was a good one, but the Senate had chosen the wrong time system. The U.S. should be on standard time, not daylight saving time, the academy said.

“We do applaud stopping the switching during the course of the year and settling on a permanent time,” said Jocelyn Cheng, a member of the AASM’s public safety committee. But, she added, “standard time, for so many scientific and circadian rationales and public health safety reasons, should really be what the permanent time is set to.”

The AASM statement received backing from more than a dozen other organizations, including the National Safety Council and the National Parent Teacher Association, The Washington Post reported.

“The Senate has finally delivered on something Americans all over the country want: to never have to change their clocks again,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington. Murray co-authored the bipartisan bill with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and others.

“There’s some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock switching has. We see an increase in heart attacks and car accidents and pedestrian accidents in the week[s] that follow the changes,” Rubio said.

“The benefits of daylight saving time have also been accounted for in the research. For example, reduced crime as there’s light later in the day. We’ve seen decreases in child obesity. A decrease in seasonal depression that many feel during Standard Time.”

Scientists have for a while been pushing for a single time system. But, as with the AASM, not everyone agrees on which system.

Some scientists say that a permanent switch to daylight saving time might affect people’s circadian rhythms, which could lead to health consequences, The New York Times reported.

A study published in 2017 suggested that circadian misalignment can carry higher risks of obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular issues, depression and cancer, the Times reported.

In 1974, the U.S. tried to switch to permanent daylight saving time, but the country went back to the two-time system after widespread complaints.

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