By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Efforts in the US Senate to mandate year-round daylight saving have stalled despite significant pressure from President Donald Trump.
Early Friday, Trump again urged the Senate to approve the bill that passed the House in July by a 308-117 vote. The measure would end the twice-yearly practice of changing clocks observed across most of the nation since the 1960s.
Trump said in a social media post, changing the clocks twice a year “costs our country a fortune, is bad for crime, stress on people, sports, and just about everything else you can imagine.”
The Senate wrapped up work this week until after the Nov. 3 congressional election and has no votes scheduled before then. Standard time resumes in the United States on Nov. 1.
“It’s dead as disco,” Republican Senator John Kennedy told Reuters earlier this week of the push to make daylight saving time permanent. “My sense is it would have trouble passing … I don’t think the leader is going to bring it up.”
Republican Senator Rick Scott, a key sponsor, told Reuters he was still confident it could be approved when lawmakers return.
Critics note the change would mean the sun rises an hour later on winter mornings, leaving more children traveling to school and commuters, construction workers, farmers and others heading to work before daylight. In some places, the sun would not rise until nearly 9 a.m. or later at the height of winter.
Supporters say changing the clocks disrupts sleep, increases workplace injuries and contributes to more road accidents. They argue keeping clocks an hour ahead year-round would provide more evening daylight and boost economic activity during the winter months.
If enacted, clocks would no longer return to standard time in 2027, although states could opt out of year-round daylight saving time if they do not currently observe it or voted to adopt permanent standard time before the law was changed.
The US used year-round daylight saving time during World War Two and enacted it again in 1974 to reduce energy use. But it proved deeply unpopular and Congress repealed it later that year.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Nick Zieminski)
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