US Senate may not consider permanent daylight saving time bill — Fortune
The US Senate is unlikely to have time before the end of the year to consider a bill approved by the House of Representatives that would introduce permanent daylight saving time across the country. The initiative is supported by US President Donald Trump, but several Republican senators are blocking its advancement, Fortune reports.
The bill предусматривает ending the practice of changing clocks twice a year. Its supporters believe this would provide more daylight in the afternoon, when Americans are most active. Opponents stress that in some states, primarily northern ones, the sun would rise only after 9:00 a.m. in winter.
Senators’ objections
The most prominent opponent of the initiative was Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. He said Congress had repeatedly introduced permanent daylight saving time before, but each time repealed the decision after Americans faced excessively late winter sunrises.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota also opposed the change, noting that children would walk to school in the dark. Senator Todd Young of Indiana said that, according to his information, the House bill does not have support among the Senate Republican leadership. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno responded that he does not expect it to be passed anytime soon.
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Trump insists on the change
Trump called on senators to approve the document and send it to him for signature. He said sunlight is better in the afternoon and also emphasized the inconvenience of changing the time. At the same time, his public pressure, according to the publication, did not change the positions of the bill’s opponents.
In the winter of 1973, amid the energy crisis, the US Congress passed a law temporarily introducing permanent daylight saving time. However, it was repealed as early as October because of declining public support, including concerns about children going to school in the dark.
An AP-NORC poll last year showed that only 12% of adult Americans support the current system, while nearly half oppose it. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine also supported establishing a single time.
