That time of year has arrived again: many Americans adjusted their clocks and circadian rhythms as Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday.
This means that in most states, mornings will be brighter and nights darker.
Millions of people across the country had their time set back an hour – an adjustment that was welcomed by those seeking more sleep and criticized by those who consider it an inconvenience.
Here’s what you need to know.
How many states observe Daylight Saving Time?
All U.S. states observe Daylight Saving Time except Hawaii and Arizona, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The portion of the Navajo Nation located in Arizona, however, observes Daylight Saving Time. The U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands also do not change their clocks.
Many more want it. Nineteen states have passed laws that would create daylight saving time for their residents year-round, according to the NCSL.
“Since federal law does not currently allow full-time daylight saving time, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes,” according to the NCSL.
Many Americans want year-round daylight saving time
Only 12% of adults in the U.S. favor the current daylight saving time system, while 47% oppose it, according to an AP-NORC poll released.
And 56% of adults surveyed said they prefer permanent daylight saving time, with less light in the morning and more light at night, according to the poll. Forty-two percent said they prefer permanent standard time, with more light in the morning and less light at night.
Making Daylight Saving Time Permanent Fails Again
President Trump urged Congress to pass legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent — which, if enacted, would end the debate over whether the U.S. should change the time twice a year.
Both the House and Senate should “push hard for more daylight at the end of the day,” the president wrote in April in Truth Social.
But an attempt to block the time adjustment has once again stalled in Congress.
The Sunshine Protection Act, sponsored by Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida with bipartisan support, would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time. Earlier this week, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas opposed Scott’s request for the measure to move forward with unanimous consent, arguing that permanent daylight saving time would make winter “a dark and gloomy time for millions of Americans.”
“By setting the clocks back one hour in the winter, permanent daylight saving time would cause the sunrise in winter to occur at an absurdly late hour, depriving Americans of morning sunlight, essential for our safety and well-being,” Cotton said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
Former Senator Marco Rubio, also a Florida Republican, had previously championed the bill, first introducing it in 2018 and reintroducing it in 2021. The Senate approved the bill in 2022, but it never reached a vote in the House.
Source: npy.org by Chandelis Duster