What Happened?

Americans may be waking up to darker winter mornings if a bill the House passed in July becomes law. The House approved H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, on July 14 by a 308-to-117 vote, which would lock clocks permanently one hour ahead of standard time for most of the country. That means no more "fall back" in November, but also no more "spring forward" in March. [](#ngr-acac351c-ff1a-4cbc-851a-612c748ca1c4)

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted May 21 to bundle the time-change measure inside the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026, a vehicle regulations bill, before the full House voted it through separately. The Senate companion bill, S. 29, has not yet passed.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

For most Americans, the practical change would be felt most in winter. Under permanent daylight saving time, the sun would rise later in the morning during December and January, meaning children heading to school and adults commuting to work would do so in the dark for longer stretches than they do today.

Nineteen states, including Florida, Texas, Washington, and Oregon, have already passed conditional laws that would automatically adopt permanent daylight saving time if Congress authorizes it. No state has passed a similar law for permanent standard time.

The energy savings argument that originally drove clock-change policy has fallen apart. The Department of Energy found in 2008 that extending daylight saving time by four weeks, done under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, cut electricity use by just 0.03 percent. Against total U.S. energy consumption, that worked out to 0.02 percent.

Both Sides, Now

Supporters of the bill, including the Trump administration, back making daylight saving time permanent, pointing to the broad bipartisan House vote as evidence of wide public support. Nineteen states have already prepared legislation to follow suit.

Opponents and some medical groups raise concerns about what permanent daylight saving time would mean for health and safety. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended in both 2020 and 2024 that the country adopt permanent standard time instead, arguing it fits human biology better. A 2020 study estimated that roughly 150,000 disease incidents per year in the U.S. could be linked to clock-change shifts.

Research has also tied the spring transition to a six percent rise in fatal traffic crashes, and a National Bureau of Standards study found a statistically significant increase in school-age children's traffic fatalities during a year-round daylight saving time experiment in 1974. A 2026 systematic review concluded that the health effects of either permanent approach are neither uniformly harmful nor uniformly beneficial.

Congress holds the sole authority to change the clock schedule. States cannot act on their own without federal authorization.

What Happens Next?

The Senate must pass S. 29 before the bill can go to the president. A prior version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 but died in the House. This time the roles are reversed: the House has acted, and the Senate has not.

Competing proposals are also in play. The Daylight Act of 2026 would repeal daylight saving time and move clocks 30 minutes forward permanently, splitting the difference. The Sunshine for Our Kids Act of 2026 would adopt year-round standard time instead. No Senate vote is scheduled on any of these measures, and without one, Americans will keep changing their clocks twice a year.

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