Buchanan, Rubio introduce Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent

Daylight saving time begins in just over a week, and a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act has already been introduced in Congress to make the change permanent.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and Sen. Marco Rubio have introduced the Sunshine Protection Act to end the customary twice-a-year clock change, Buchanan announced in a press release on Friday. The two men have sponsored proposals to permanently adopt daylight savings time in previous years, but have been unsuccessful.

“Changing our clocks twice a year is inconvenient and entirely unnecessary,” Buchanan said. “It’s time to end this antiquated practice.”

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“There are enormous health and economic benefits to making daylight saving time permanent,” Buchanan said. “Florida lawmakers have already voted to make daylight saving time permanent in my home state and Congress should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to move Florida and the rest of the country to year-round daylight saving time.”

Florida, and many other states, have already enacted year-round daylight saving time, but cannot apply the change under the current federal statute.

"This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," Rubio said in the press release. "Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done.”