The U.S. House approved legislation Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country, sending the Sunshine Protection Act to the Senate on a bipartisan 308-117 vote.
If the Senate approves the measure and President Donald Trump signs it, most Americans would remain on the clock now used from March to early November and stop changing clocks twice each year. Areas already exempt from daylight saving time, including Hawaii and most of Arizona, could remain on standard time.
The White House strongly supported the bill ahead of the vote and said Trump’s advisers would recommend that he sign it in its current form.
Dallas could see 8:30 a.m. winter sunrises
Dallas’ latest winter sunrises currently occur around 7:30 a.m. in late December and early January. Permanent daylight saving time would move those clock readings to about 8:30 a.m. Winter sunsets that now occur around 5:30 p.m. would instead occur around 6:30 p.m.
The measure would not create more daylight. It would shift an hour of light from the morning to the evening during the months when most of the country currently observes standard time.
Supporters and opponents split over daylight
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) said the twice-yearly clock change disrupts routines and burdens families and businesses.
“Americans are ready to ditch the switch,” Bilirakis said after the vote.
A 2025 AP-NORC poll found that 56% of U.S. adults preferred permanent daylight saving time if required to choose one year-round system, while 42% preferred permanent standard time. Only 12% favored the current practice of changing clocks twice a year.
Opponents focused on dark winter mornings. U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pennsylvania) warned that “millions of Americans will wake up during the winter months in complete darkness.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also supports ending seasonal clock changes but favors permanent standard time, saying it aligns more closely with human circadian biology.
Senate must act
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the proposal 48-1 in May. The Senate unanimously passed a similar bill in 2022, but the House did not vote on it before that Congress ended.
The Senate must now approve H.R. 139 before it can reach Trump’s desk. Until then, Americans remain scheduled to turn their clocks back to standard time at 2 a.m. on November 1.
Provided by Dallas Express
