Twice a year, the federal government asks 330 million Americans to perform a ritual almost nobody wants to perform: change their clocks. Spring forward. Fall back. Repeat forever. The whole thing is a relic of wartime energy policy from over a century ago — long past its expiration date. But like so many federal mandates, it survives not because anyone can defend it with a straight face, but because Washington never got around to killing it.

And it’s not like people haven’t tried. State legislatures from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Northwest have passed bills and resolutions practically begging Congress for permission to stop the clock-switching charade. Think about that for a second. Sovereign states need the federal government’s blessing to decide what time it is. Presidents have weighed in. Polls have shown lopsided public support for ending the practice. Yet every March and November, the clocks kept changing. Until Tuesday.

From the Daily Caller:

The House of Representatives voted 308-117 Tuesday to pass a bill that seeks to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and put an end to switching clocks twice a year.

The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, introduced by Republican Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, is backed by President Donald Trump. However, the bill still has to pass the Senate before it reaches the president’s desk.

A 308-117 margin. That’s not a close vote. That’s a beatdown. The kind of bipartisan consensus Washington supposedly can’t produce anymore — except, apparently, when the issue is obvious enough. Worth noting: 95 Democrats voted against the bill. Only 22 Republicans did. Draw your own conclusions.

Rep. Buchanan, who has pushed versions of this legislation since 2018, called it “an important step toward ending” an “outdated practice.” He pointed to real consequences beyond mere inconvenience. “Permanent daylight saving time will improve public safety, promote healthier and more active lifestyles and give families more daylight to enjoy after work and school.” With nearly half of American adults and one in five children battling obesity, extra evening daylight isn’t a luxury. It’s a nudge toward getting off the couch.

President Trump, never one to mince words, made the fiscal case on Truth Social back in May. “Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their clocks,” he wrote. “We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day — And who can be against that?” Hard to argue with that math.

Will the Senate deliver?

Now comes the part where everyone holds their breath. The bill heads to the Senate, and if you’ve watched that chamber operate for any length of time, you know that’s not automatically good news.

Here’s the maddening part. In 2022, the Senate passed an earlier version of this exact bill — unanimously. Not a single objection. Then the House sat on it and let it rot. Now the House has delivered a thunderous 308-vote mandate. The roles have completely reversed. Can the Senate return the favor, or will it find some procedural excuse to run out the clock? Pun intended.

Trump’s vocal backing gives the bill serious political weight. The House margin makes opposition look absurd. And the Senate already proved it supports this idea. But August recess is approaching, the calendar is jammed, and institutional inertia is the Senate’s defining characteristic. Forgive the skepticism.

States are ready — is Washington?

The most frustrating dimension of all this is that the states aren’t waiting around for a permission slip. Legislators in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Delaware, and Oregon have already passed measures to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time. They just can’t flip the switch without Congress.

Credit where it’s due: the bill respects federalism. Arizona and Hawaii, which already run on permanent Standard Time, can keep doing their thing. Other states can opt out too. Washington isn’t imposing a one-size-fits-all decree. It’s removing a restriction and letting states decide. That’s how the system is supposed to work.

Some sleep researchers argue that permanent Standard Time would align better with natural circadian rhythms. Fair enough. But the American people have made their preference abundantly clear. They want longer, brighter evenings with their families — and they want the government to stop messing with their clocks.

The House did its job. The president is ready to sign. A dozen states are lined up. Every piece is in place except one. If a hundred senators can’t manage to pass something this popular — something they themselves already approved four years ago — then Americans deserve an honest answer to a simple question: what exactly are you there for?

Key Takeaways

• The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act 308-117, a Trump-backed bipartisan landslide.
• The Senate must now act, despite already passing a similar bill unanimously in 2022.
• Over a dozen states have passed laws anticipating permanent Daylight Saving Time.
• The bill respects federalism, letting states opt out and choose Standard Time instead.

Sources: Daily Caller, TIME