“I support this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Changing our clocks twice a year hurts our sleep and our health, leading to more strokes and heart attacks. Keeping daylight saving time gives us more evening sunlight, which helps local businesses, boosts tourism, and reduces crime.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Sunshine Protection Act. This act addresses an issue on which many Americans actually agree, and that is stopping the biannual process of changing our clocks. Only 12 percent of Americans prefer to switch their clocks twice a year. Far more Americans recognize that the practice is inconvenient and, frankly, disruptive. Stopping the twice-yearly time change benefits the health and well- being of all Americans. The time change inevitably disrupts sleep patterns and is especially disruptive to the sleep of young children and pets. Time change also is associated with an increase in the rate of heart attacks and strokes in the days immediately following the change. Disturbingly, studies have shown that the increase in stroke rates after the time change is even higher for some of our most vulnerable populations. For example, cancer patients’ stroke rates increase by 25 percent, and people over the age of 65 are 20 percent more likely to have a stroke in the days following the time change. The Sunshine Protection Act would implement permanent daylight saving time and stop the twice-a-year change that disrupts our sleep and our health. Taking this action will increase the sunshine hours in the evening, allowing many Americans to leave work for more sunlight in the winter months, not darkness. The increased evening sunlight will also provide a needed boost to our tourism industry. Extra sunlight means more time at the beach, more time eating out at restaurants, and more time doing outdoor leisure activities. In my district along the Jersey Shore, tourists can enjoy beautiful coastal areas with serene beaches, embark on fishing ventures along the Atlantic Coast, enjoy a nice outdoor concert from iconic musicians in places like Asbury Park, and so much more. Last year alone, New Jersey welcomed more than 120 million visitors to our State, and they contributed more than $50 billion to our State’s economy. Our tourism industry needs the boost today more than ever. The Trump administration’s policies, including high visa fees and the detention and harassment of legal tourists, have discouraged travelers from visiting our country because they simply do not feel welcome. Meanwhile, Americans are facing an affordability crisis, forcing families to make difficult tradeoffs, including forgoing summer travel. For communities like mine that rely on tourism for our local economies, an extra hour of daylight can make all the difference. Extra daylight also helps to deter crime. Researchers at the Brookings Institution found that criminal incidents decreased during an hour of sunlight added to the evening following the springtime change. Making that extra sunlight permanent will help keep our communities safer. All of these benefits clearly explain why 19 States have already voted to adopt permanent daylight saving time if Federal law changed because, right now, it doesn’t allow them to do that. These States recognize the benefits, and it is time that Congress allows them to reap those benefits. For States that have already chosen to follow permanent standard time due to the unique needs of their climate or location--and that includes Arizona and Hawaii--under this bill, they can continue to do so. Other States are allowed under the legislation to adopt permanent standard time prior to the bill’s enactment. Ultimately, the benefits of stopping the biannual changing of the clocks are numerous and clear. Moving to permanent daylight saving time will bring much-needed evening sunlight to communities across the United States. It is time we finally end the process of springing forward and falling back. I urge my colleagues to support the Sunshine Protection Act, and I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.”

“I want the House to pass this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. People are tired of changing their clocks twice a year. Having more daylight in the evening helps small businesses, lets kids play outside after school, and is better for people's health.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I want to start with a little history lesson. Back in 2013, this was my bill. I wrote this bill. I thought it was a pretty good name, the Sunshine Protection Act, back in the day. It was for good reason. I had gotten to the State senate. In the State House, you can only file a certain number of bills, but once we got to the State senate, I really got jelling on coming up with ideas that would help our State. Up until that point, every idea on trying to stop the clock change was going to standard time. No one likes standard time. It is darkness in the wintertime, and so we, as The Sunshine State--a lot of Floridians here--and coastal New Jerseyans and others here from Louisiana, we like the sunshine. It made far more sense to keep daylight saving time, which is the 8 months out of the year that we have light in the afternoons and evenings. I filed that bill without a press release back in 2013. It became statewide news. For 4 years straight, every time this bill came up, it was the most viewed bill in the Florida Senate for 4 years straight. I will say that I never got a chance to pass that bill out of the Florida Legislature, although I know some of my colleagues who are here today ended up doing it after I was gone. It is one of the burdens of being a Democrat in a Republican-dominated legislature. Mr. Speaker, here we are many years later, 13 years later, and an idea that I got to write many years ago now is being led by great leaders like Vern Buchanan--I am a proud cosponsor of this--and Gus Bilirakis, a great Floridians whom I enjoy working with, and, of course, Frank Pallone, our ranking member. There is a reason this bill was so popular for so long. Small businesses like it because people, after work, go out to businesses and get to have fun. Beach communities like it. With that one extra hour of sunshine, kids can go out and play after school. We saw that people are sick of the changing of the clocks. Also, the local farmer doesn’t need Big Government to tell them what time to wake up in the morning. They know what time they want to wake up, no matter what, so that change isn’t going to affect them at all. Then I encourage schools and educational institutions around the Nation, to adjust school start times based upon what they think is best to keep kids safe. At the end of the day, we have talked about how it is good for business, good for recreation, and good to help out with making sure that we don’t have this public health issue every time we are changing the clocks back and forth. It is finally time to bring sunshine across the Nation, and I urge my colleagues to support this amazing Sunshine Protection Act.”

• Little substance
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  Speech on a bill

  Signal 44 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I support this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Changing the clocks twice a year hurts people's health and disrupts sleep. Having more daylight in the evening will prevent traffic accidents, lower energy bills, and help farmers and outdoor workers.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act. Twice a year, Americans lose sleep, disrupt their routines, and pay the price for a practice that has outlived its original purpose. H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, ends that twice-yearly clock change and makes daylight saving time permanent year round. Research shows that eliminating the biannual switch reduces the spike in heart attacks, strokes, and workplace accidents that follow the spring-forward transition. Ending the clock change also means fewer disruptions to sleep patterns tied to that adjustment period. On the safety side, permanent evening daylight means more daylight during peak commuting and after-school hours, leading to fewer pedestrian and traffic fatalities in the evening. As with many other policies, the impacts are more dramatic for our less affluent neighbors. Hourly workers, shift workers, and families relying on public transit are hit hardest by sudden schedule changes and reduced evening visibility. More evening daylight reduces the need for artificial lighting and heating in the early evening hours, which can help lower household energy use and utility bills. For Louisiana families, many of whom work in agriculture, fishing, and outdoor industries tied to the Gulf Coast, permanent daylight saving time would mean more usable evening daylight for safer work conditions, recreation, and valuable time with their families. The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the Sunshine Protection Act because it would provide consistency and reduce disruptions for farmers and ranchers. A stable, year-round time system makes it easier to plan work, transportation, and market schedules. For agriculture, ending a twice-yearly change means fewer disruptions to the schedule that livestock and labor already depend on. H.R. 139 offers a simple, permanent fix: no more clock changes, more usable evening daylight, and a system that works better for working families, rural communities, and American agriculture.”

“I oppose this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. It is bad for our health and safety. Scientists and doctors say our bodies need morning sunlight. In 1974, we tried permanent daylight saving time, and children died going to school in the dark. If we stop changing the clocks, permanent standard time is the safer choice.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for this opportunity to talk about the Sunshine Protection Act. I rise in opposition to the bill and the danger it poses to our health and safety. This bill, sadly, is being rushed to the floor as a political bargaining chip without thorough consideration of the impacts, and we have been here before. Permanent time is a national decision with implications for every aspect of our health and economy. It deserves a robust, thoughtful debate and an amendment process that allows Members to test each provision of the bill. For example, we should be able to test the provision that eliminates a State’s right to opt out of daylight saving time or the decision to ``stop the clock’’ on daylight saving time in the first place. I hear broad agreement in this Chamber and beyond that the twice- yearly time changes have acute health consequences, but I want to talk about the chronic long-term impacts of this bill’s late winter sunrise. Early morning light is an important environmental cue to set our bodies’ internal clocks and promote alertness, and dim evening light tells our bodies that it is time to sleep. We function best, scientists tell us, on a physical, mental, and social level when our bodies, the Sun, and the clock on the wall are all aligned. Kids perform better at school. Workers are more alert. That is why we observe standard time in the winter months and why we should at least consider observing it year-round. The American Medical Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, and dozens of other societies tell us that if we stop the clock, permanent standard time is a healthier choice-- permanent standard time. That is not the debate before us. We have been here before. In 1974, children died as a result of a permanent daylight saving time attempt or trial when they were trying to go to school in the dark for hours. In 1974, this was revoked. More than that, we aren’t voting on bills right now that would reduce the sky-high costs of food, fuel, and healthcare or address the President’s war in Iran. Instead, we are considering a bill that was deadly and dangerous in the past, in the seventies, that we learned from. I hope we don’t have to learn that lesson again. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no’’ on this bill.”

“I want Congress to pass this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Congress tried this in the 1970s and reversed it, but life is different now. Schools start later, fewer kids walk, and more people work from home. People do not want to keep changing their clocks back and forth.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just want to address the issue that was mentioned that in 1974 Congress voted to move to permanent daylight savings time and then reversed that decision. I think that 50 years later, things are different. First of all, in the 1970s, when that was the case, things have changed in the sense that schools have pushed start times later in many districts, including in my district and dramatically fewer kids walk to school. Also, remote and hybrid work has had significant impact on Americans’ commuting patterns. Things are not the same today as they were in the 1970s in terms of what people did and how they worked and how they went to school. Passing this bill now also in the peak summer months gives everyone-- and that is schools, workplaces, transit systems--time to plan for this change well in advance of the darkest winter months, and I think that is important also. I am also confident that we are setting ourselves up to succeed this time around so Americans can reap the benefits of eliminating the time change. Again, it is the time change that really is the problem. Most of us, whether you are for permanent daylight savings time or permanent standard time, don’t want to see the switching back and forth. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and, again, I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.”

“I want the House to pass this bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Changing our clocks twice a year harms our health, disrupts sleep, and causes more car crashes and heart attacks. Most Americans want to stop changing the clocks and keep more sunlight in the evening.”

“Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to really stress, again, why I think that the status quo is bad. I mean, obviously, some people here--I think a majority--would like to see a permanent daylight savings time and some who I think are in the minority would like to see a permanent standard time. However, the bottom line is we just can’t continue the status quo, Mr. Speaker, because the science and research really is clear. It shows that springing forward and falling back twice a year is harmful to our health. It makes Americans less safe, and it is very unpopular. Studies have shown increases, as I mentioned before, in heart attacks and strokes, mood and sleep disturbances, and hospital admissions in the days after a time change. Studies have also shown that increases in stroke rates with the time change are even higher for some of our most vulnerable populations, and that includes seniors, for example. The bottom line is, Americans’ safety is put at greater risk in the days after a time change, and disrupting our sleep has been shown to lead to higher rates of fatal motor vehicle crashes, crimes like robbery and workplace injuries. Whether or not you agree what should be permanent, the bottom line is that sticking to the status quo and continuing to change our clocks is really the worst option. I am going to stand with the 56 percent of Americans in a recent poll who prefer a shift to permanent daylight savings time to give families more sunlight in the evening hours. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.”