The Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate in March 2022, but has not been taken up this Congress as date approaches to “fall back” to darker evenings

Washington (November 3, 2023) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released a statement today on making daylight saving time (DST) permanent and ending the antiquated practice of changing the clocks twice a year. Senator Markey, along with Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), is an original sponsor of the Sunshine Protection Act, which unanimously passed the Senate in March 2022 but was never brought up for a vote in the House.

“When we ‘fall back’ and lose the extra hour of daylight saving time on Sunday, we are sacrificing energy savings, crime reduction and economic benefits for darkness. Over the years, I’ve fought and won to extend daylight saving time—adding two months’ worth of sun to the American people’s calendar, which saves the same amount of electricity as used by over 100,000 households for an entire year. It’s past time for Congress to take up the Sunshine Protection Act and make daylight saving time permanent to keep the sun shining.”

Studies show that making DST permanent would have positive impacts on public health, the economy, and climate change. Representative Vern Buchanan (FL-16) introduced companion legislation in the House.

As part of the Energy Policy Act in 2005, then-Representatives Markey and Fred Upton (MI-06) amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966, extending the duration of DST in the spring by changing its start date from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday in March, and in the fall by changing its end date from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. In 1985, then-Representative Markey also partnered with Representative Carlos Moorhead (CA-27) to extend DST by three weeks.

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