Buchanan’s Sunshine Protection Act Sent to House Floor
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, released the following statement after Buchanan’s Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), a bill to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent year-round, was successfully marked up and sent to the House floor for consideration within the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act (H.R. 7389):
“For years, Floridians have voiced overwhelming frustration with the outdated practice of changing the clocks twice a year. The biannual clock change is inconvenient, unnecessary, and out of step with the needs of today’s families and economy. Permanent Daylight Saving Time will provide Americans with greater stability and more usable daylight hours throughout the year. We are pleased to work to move this long-discussed policy forward as part of this important infrastructure legislation.”
The Sunshine Protection Act was included as a provision within an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (AINS) to the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which was sent to the House floor for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. In Florida, the state legislature overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation in 2018 to become the first state in the nation to adopt permanent DST. Across the U.S., 19 states have since enacted legislation or passed similar resolutions.
The legislation has 32 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and Senate companion legislation (S. 29) introduced by Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has 18 bipartisan cosponsors. President Trump has also consistently said that he wants to end the twice-annual clock change.
Buchanan has introduced the Sunshine Protection Act each Congress since 2018.
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