Americans Set Their Clocks Back Again as the Senate Stalls the Trump-Backed Daylight Saving Time Bill
The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act 307 to 117 in July. Fox reports it has stalled in the Senate despite Trump's public pressure, with Sen. Tom Cotton among the opponents.
As clocks rolled back an hour Sunday morning, Congress had not acted on a bill to end the twice-a-year change, Fox News reports.
Where the bill stands. The Sunshine Protection Act would let states observe daylight saving time year-round. The House passed it in July, 307 to 117, with majorities of both parties in favor. Twenty-two Republicans and 95 Democrats voted no. In the Senate, Fox says, progress has stopped.
Trump's push. The president has pressed the Senate for weeks. This week he wrote on Truth Social that the Senate "is letting the daylight saving bill die when a vast Majority of the Country want it," and added: "TAKE A VOTE!" Fox says he also shared the cellphone number of Sen. Tom Cotton, one of the bill's more vocal opponents, and urged supporters to call him.
The pushback. Cotton answered that Congress has enacted permanent daylight saving time before and repealed it each time "once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter." He said, "Arkansans don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I'll always put Arkansas first."
The leadership view. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Fox in early October that "there's no reason Americans should lose an hour of sunlight at the end of the day." Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier this month that senators are "having conversations about" it, but "there's no clear path forward or consensus on it yet."
What to keep in mind. The Senate is out until after the election and will return to a crowded schedule, so floor time is the main obstacle. Fox's report does not say whether a vote is planned in the lame-duck session.