I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who has said, “Man I love daylight savings.” Some prefer the longer days or the brighter mornings, but most Americans do not enjoy this system.
The senate has finally decided to do something about it. On March 15, 2022, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, declaring daylight savings time (DST) permanent, and putting an end to changing the clock twice a year.
Except now, the house is sitting on the bill, and it has been reported that, “Leaders on both sides of the aisle have made clear they are not in a rush to act on the legislation,” according to a March 21 report from The Hill.
The unanimous passing of the bill in the Senate does not seem likely in the House. Many representatives seemingly are not interested in changing the bill due to not having enough data and concerns about Seattle.
Due to bureaucracy and the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, the bill has been put on the backburner for the foreseeable future.
Daylight savings was originally established in 1916 by Germany and its allies during World War I to conserve fuel. The United States adopted daylight savings in 1918, but shortly after the war ended, all countries got rid of the policy due to its unpopularity.
In 1942, it was reinstated as a year-round DST, which was referred to as “war time.” This lasted until 1945.
It is a common myth that DST was originally introduced for the benefit of farmers. But in fact, since 1916, the biggest group to oppose DST has been farmers. Factors such as dairy cattle’s readiness to be milked and the time lost meant they had to rush to get their crops to market.
DST became standardized due to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated its use across the country, but it could be removed if the state agreed they did not want to observe the practice. Daylight savings would continue to evolve, but its implementation has stayed mostly the same since 1966.
Today, all states except Hawaii and Arizona observe daylight savings time.
