US Senate to Hold Hearing on Making Daylight Saving Time Permanent

Congress will hold its first hearing in more than three years on a long-running push to make daylight saving time permanent in the United States.

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on April 10 on whether to end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year, more than three years after the Senate unanimously voted in March 2022 to make daylight saving time permanent.

That effort stalled in the House and President Donald Trump said last month there was no consensus and action was unlikely.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz said the hearing will focus on whether to end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year.

"The antiquated tradition of changing our clocks has a very real impact on Americans’ businesses, health, and happiness, particularly for parents of young children," Cruz said.

The hearing will include the CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, an expert with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the president of Insurance Institute for Highway, a group that studies car crashes.

Daylight saving time - putting the clocks forward one hour during the summer half of the year to make the most of the longer evenings - has been in place in nearly all of the United States since the 1960s, but proponents have pushed to make it year-round.

Supporters of remaining on daylight saving time argue it would lead to brighter evenings and more economic activity during the winter months. Critics say it would force children to walk to school in darkness, since the measure would mean experiencing sunrise an hour later.