About a month ago, most Americans lost their precious hour of Sunday sleep when daylight saving time began and the clock jumped forward. The United States may once again be on a cliff that ends what is called an “outdated tradition.”
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing entitled, “If I can turn back the time, should I lock the watch?” – On Thursday, he will look into various issues regarding whether the country should continue to “advance” and “fall” each year over time.”
“The outdated tradition of changing clocks has a very realistic impact on American business, health and well-being, especially for parents of young children,” said committee chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a statement. “People on both sides of the aisle support previous legislative efforts to ‘lock the clock’, and understanding the meaning of time-changing is a priority for me as chairman.
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Witnesses scheduled to appear during the hearing include representatives from the Highway Safety Insurance Institute, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Association of Golf Course Owners and the Rock the Clock Movement.
This is a hearing, not a sign of the bill, but it could be a sign that Congress could take action to save on laws related to daylight savings.
A companion bill to make daylight savings time permanent was introduced in legislatures, including one bill mentioned by Cruz’s committee, but another legislation gives the state the power to save daylight savings.
The United States has built a relationship with Daylight Saving Time for over a century. It began as a wartime measure in 1918, but was rewinded a year later. It returned in 1942 during World War II, but was much more confusing than it was today. The change in seasonal clocks was enacted in 1966, but seven years later, the US once again observed daylight savings from the national energy crisis.
Americans initially supported the practice widely, especially among parents, until dark winter mornings cited safety concerns. The country returned to changing its clock twice a year in 1974, and remained on roughly the same schedule.
Over the past few years there has been a lot of effort to bring the US back to permanent daylight savings time. This is a move that many health experts disagree with. Instead, they recommend permanent standard times. This recommends providing more sunlight in the morning. This is a factor that can positively affect sleep and circadian rhythms, which are further associated with other health outcomes.
States that proposed or enacted laws targeting changes to clocks are generally divided into locking them in permanent standard or daylight savings time.
Only two states observe standard time for the year, an option provided by the Congressional 1966 Unified Hours Act. The state cannot choose permanent daylight saving time. Most often, states that stand on that side of the clock have introduced or passed measures calling on Congress to outline permanent daylight saving time or conditions for states to observe daylight saving time in permanently (usually based on actions by Congress or neighboring states).
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A House bill has been introduced that gives states power to observe their power to save daylight savings all year round, and has been mentioned in the committee.
However, several other states have introduced legislation introduced during current legislative meetings, which either put states on permanent standard time or exempt daylight saving time. No one has passed as of early April.
The current widespread action on daylight saving time depends on the legislature taking action. President Donald Trump previously expressed his support for ending Daylight Savings Time, but in March he informed him that he didn’t push it forward and called it “50/50.”
“This is a 50/50 issue, and if something is a 50/50 issue, it’s hard to get excited about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it in one way. A lot of people like it. It’s very even. And usually I find that applies, what else should we do?”
The Senate Committee on Commercial, Science and Transport Hearings on Daylight Savings is scheduled for 10am on Thursday, April 10th.
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