The United States has been arguing about daylight saving time for decades, but 2026 is different. Congress is closer than it has been in years to actually doing something about it, and two competing bills, pulling in opposite directions, have put the question front and center: should America lock its clocks to daylight saving time permanently, or revert to standard time year-round and stop there?
At the center of the current push is the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, a bill with a simple, blunt objective: make daylight saving time the permanent, year-round standard for the country, ending the twice-yearly ritual of moving clocks forward in March and back in November. The legislation has the public backing of President Donald Trump, the machinery of the House Energy and Commerce Committee behind it, and a floor vote imminent. Its counterpart, a newer bipartisan measure called the Sunshine for Our Kids Act of 2026, argues for exactly the opposite approach, locking clocks to standard time instead. Both bills agree that the current system of changing clocks twice a year needs to go. They disagree, fundamentally and consequentially, about what should replace it.
The choice between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time would alter sunrise and sunset patterns across virtually every American city and carry measurable consequences for public health.
The Sunshine Protection Act: What the Bill Actually Does
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 would end the nearly nationwide biannual clock changing and make daylight saving time permanent year-round. Representative Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican who has introduced the bill every Congress since 2018, put it forward again this year.
The act previously advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with an overwhelming 48 to 1 vote in May before securing its decisive full House victory. Under the provisions of the bill, the final clock change would occur in March 2027, when Americans would “spring forward” one last time and never “fall back” again.
The federal bill allows states to opt out of permanent daylight saving time and remain on year-round standard time, provided their state legislatures pass an opt-out measure before the federal law takes effect. States and territories that already use standard time year-round, which currently includes Hawaii, most of Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, would not have to alter their current systems.
President Trump has consistently pushed for permanent daylight saving time, calling the semiannual ritual of changing clocks ridiculous, inconvenient, and costly. In statements shared on social media, Trump has stated that staying on daylight saving time would offer a longer, brighter day, which aligns with the preferences of a majority of active Americans. The White House reaffirmed its support just ahead of the House floor vote, describing the bill as a popular, common-sense reform that protects precious daylight during evening hours when families are most active.
The Counter-Argument: The Case for Permanent Standard Time
While the Sunshine Protection Act enjoys strong momentum following its House passage, it faces a determined counter-effort from advocates of permanent standard time. The Sunshine for Our Kids Act of 2026, introduced by Representative Pat Harrigan and supported by Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, offers an alternative framework. This bill would make standard time the national default while allowing individual states the flexibility to opt into daylight saving time if their communities prefer it.
Opponents of permanent daylight saving time argue that shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening creates severe safety hazards during the winter months. Under permanent daylight saving time, millions of Americans would wake up, commute to work, and send their children to school in complete darkness. Critics note that morning light is essential for regulating the human body clock, promoting alertness, and aiding natural sleep cycles.
Medical groups, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have firmly aligned against permanent daylight saving time. Sleep scientists argue that standard time matches natural human biology much better, whereas year-round daylight saving time causes a chronic mismatch between our internal biological clocks and the sun, potentially leading to long-term health risks.
Historical Precedent: The 1974 Experiment
This is not the first time the United States has attempted to lock the clocks to daylight saving time. In the winter of 1974, amid a severe national energy crisis, Congress enacted a year-and-a-half-long experiment with year-round daylight saving time to curb fuel consumption.
The experiment began in January 1974 with widespread public backing. However, public approval plummeted rapidly as the realities of winter set in. Parents grew deeply concerned about children standing at freezing school bus stops in pitch darkness, and news reports of morning traffic accidents involving young students fueled national outrage.
The public backlash was so severe that Congress cut the experiment short, ending it early in October 1974 and reverting back to the standard seasonal rotation. Critics of the current Sunshine Protection Act point to 1974 as a cautionary tale, warning that history will repeat itself once Americans experience the dark, cold winter mornings that permanent daylight saving time creates.
The Geographic Divide: Winners and Losers
The debate over daylight saving time does not follow traditional political lines. Instead, it is defined by geography, latitude, and where a city sits within its specific time zone.
Cities located on the eastern edge of a time zone, such as Boston or Detroit, experience very early winter sunsets under the current system, sometimes as early as 4:15 p.m. For these regions, permanent daylight saving time provides a welcome extension of afternoon light.
Conversely, cities on the western edge of a time zone, such as Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, or parts of the Midwest, already experience relatively late sunrises. Shifting to permanent daylight saving time would push their winter sunrises past 8:30 a.m. or even 9:00 a.m., exacerbating the problem of dark mornings.
Projected Sunrise and Sunset Times Across Major US Cities
To understand the practical impact of the Sunshine Protection Act, it is helpful to examine how winter schedules would shift in major metropolitan areas during late December and January. Under a permanent daylight saving time framework, every city would see both its morning sunrise and its evening sunset delayed by exactly one hour. This shift would produce drastically different morning and evening environments depending on where a city is positioned geographically.
In the Northeast, major cities would see afternoon darkness pushed back, but at the expense of much later mornings. New York City, which currently experiences a winter sunrise at 7:15 a.m. and an early sunset at 4:30 p.m., would transition to an 8:15 a.m. sunrise and a 5:30 p.m. sunset. Similarly, Washington, D.C. would see its current winter sunrise move from 7:25 a.m. to 8:25 a.m., while its winter sunset would extend from 4:50 p.m. to 5:50 p.m.
In the Midwest, the morning delays become even more pronounced. Chicago currently has a winter sunrise at 7:15 a.m. and a sunset at 4:25 p.m., which would shift to an 8:15 a.m. sunrise and a 5:25 p.m. sunset under the new law. Meanwhile, Detroit, which sits on the western edge of the Eastern time zone, would face an exceptionally late morning. Detroit’s current winter sunrise of 8:00 a.m. would become a 9:00 a.m. sunrise, though its early 5:00 p.m. sunset would be pushed to a more favorable 6:00 p.m.
On the West Coast and in the South, the pattern continues to show significant shifts. Seattle would experience a morning delay pushing its 7:55 a.m. winter sunrise to 8:55 a.m., while its sunset would move from 4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. Further south in California, Los Angeles would see its winter sunrise change from 6:55 a.m. to 7:55 a.m., and its sunset extend from 4:50 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. In the Southeast, Atlanta would watch its winter sunrise delay from 7:40 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., with its winter afternoon light stretching from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
As these numbers illustrate, northern and western time zone cities bear the heaviest burden in the mornings. In Detroit and Seattle, sunrises would approach 9:00 a.m., meaning regular morning school sessions and business hours would begin entirely before dawn. Meanwhile, coastal and southern states gain significant evening light, which supporters emphasize is a major boon for local economies, outdoor recreation, and commercial industries like tourism and golf course operations.
As these numbers illustrate, northern and western time zone cities bear the heaviest burden in the mornings. In Detroit and Seattle, sunrises would approach 9:00 a.m., meaning regular morning school sessions and business hours would begin entirely before dawn. Meanwhile, coastal and southern states gain significant evening light, which supporters emphasize is a major boon for local economies, outdoor recreation, and commercial industries like tourism and golf course operations.
The Path Forward: What Happens Next in the Senate
With the House of Representatives passing the Sunshine Protection Act by an overwhelming 308 to 117 margin, the bill transitions to the Senate for consideration.
The Senate famously passed a version of the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent in 2022, though that momentum ultimately stalled in the House due to safety objections and disagreements over health data. Now that the legislative dynamics have flipped, the ultimate fate of the bill rests on whether the upper chamber will take up the newly passed House version.
Nineteen states have already passed trigger laws or resolutions indicating they will immediately switch to year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law permits it. For the rest of the nation, the legislative process in the Senate will determine whether Americans will ditch the switch for good or keep adjusting their clocks twice a year.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for information only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition and/or current medication. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.