“Now the Senate has the Opportunity to Finish the Job.”
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan penned an op-ed in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune celebrating the bipartisan House vote to pass his Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), a bill to make daylight saving time permanent year-round and end the twice-annual clock change, and calling on the Senate to pass his bill and send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
“Americans are ready to lock the clock,” writes Buchanan in the op-ed. “Florida has led the conversation on this issue for years, and the House has now acted with broad bipartisan support. It’s time for the Senate to send this commonsense legislation to the President’s desk.”
Read the full op-ed here or below:
Floridians want more daylight time. Congress must deliver it.
Congressman Vern Buchanan
For years, Americans have asked a simple question: Why are we still changing our clocks twice a year?
The U.S. House of Representatives has finally taken a major step toward ending that outdated practice by passing my bill, the Sunshine Protection Act, in a bipartisan 308-117 vote. My bill makes daylight saving time permanent nationwide, bringing consistency to families, opportunities to businesses and health benefits to communities across the country.
Floridians have long understood the value of more daylight in the evening. As the Sunshine State, we know that extra daylight means more time for families to enjoy parks, ballfields, and local events after work and school. It also benefits restaurants, retailers and countless small businesses that rely on evening activity.
Twice each year, Americans are forced to adjust their schedules because of a practice that no longer fits the way we live today. Those clock changes disrupt sleep, create unnecessary confusion and have been linked to increases in traffic accidents and workplace injuries during the transition periods. Permanent daylight saving time will eliminate those disruptions while giving Americans the consistency in schedule they deserve.
This is a commonsense reform, not a partisan one. The overwhelming bipartisan support in the House reflects what Americans have been saying for years: It’s time to stop changing the clocks.
I have championed this issue since 2018 because I understand that good government should make everyday life easier, not more complicated. The Sunshine Protection Act is a real solution that supports families, strengthens local economies and eliminates an unnecessary government mandate that affects every American twice a year.
Now the Senate has the opportunity to finish the job.
Americans are ready to lock the clock. Florida has led the conversation on this issue for years, and the House has now acted with broad bipartisan support. It’s time for the Senate to send this commonsense legislation to the President’s desk.
I am proud of the many benefits my bill will provide to every corner of our great nation, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan represents Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes Manatee County and the southern portion of Hillsborough County.
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