(WPRI) — It’s almost time to turn back the clocks an hour, but will this be the last time we fall back?
In March of this year, the U.S. Senate unanimously voted in favor of the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving permanent, for all states except Hawaii and most of Arizona. So far the house has not held a vote on that bill.
“It doesn’t appear right now as though there is enough political will or consensus in the houses of representatives for it to be adopted,” said Dr. John Vile, Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University.
The debate about whether to end the practice of switching the clocks has been going on for years.
“It did not get action in the house and a lot of people think sort of its moment passed,” Dr. Vile said. “So its current chances don’t particularly appear very good.”
Many Americans already thought it was a done deal.
“People got a little ahead of themselves in thinking well if it did that well in the senate then surely it’s going to be a no-brainier in the house, turns out it wasn’t,” Dr. Vile said. “We have a bicameral legislature, and even there, my understanding is President Biden has not taken a specific stance whether he would veto this or accept it if it were adopted.”
On the other side of the debate, the Sleep Research Society wants to keep standard time year-round. Their argument against later sunsets is that more light exposure in the evening can disrupt the body’s hormones. This leads to sleep loss which is also associated with obesity, stress, heart disease, and depression.
The U.S. previously stopped changing the clocks everywhere back in 1973 due to the nation’s energy crisis.
It was soon repealed after several children were hurt on their way to school the following January. The sun was rising then as late as 8:30 a.m.
