Overview
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 48-1 on May 21 to advance the Sunshine Protection Act as part of a broader transportation package, sending the proposal toward a full House vote.
- The bill would set Daylight Saving Time year-round while allowing states to opt out and remain on standard time, and it has received public backing from the White House and congressional Republicans.
- Sleep scientists say the best available evidence favors permanent standard time, not permanent DST, and warn that year-round DST could worsen sleep loss, raise heart-attack and crash risks, and misalign people’s internal clocks with morning light.
- Orthodox Jewish leaders warn later winter sunrises under permanent DST would make it hard for many observant Jews to complete required morning prayers and rituals before work or commuting, citing examples of New York and Detroit sunrise shifts.
- Next steps include full House consideration and possible amendments before any Senate action, and the long history of a brief 1970s federal experiment with year-round DST that was repealed for morning-safety concerns is shaping current arguments.