Sunshine Protection Act to end daylight saving time change hits Senate wall

The push to end daylight saving time has hit a Senate wall, with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., saying approval of the Sunshine Protection Act would leave Arkansas kids attending school in the dark.

What they're saying:

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has been one of the more vocal opponents of the bill, vowing to block any attempts to fast-track it on the floor. That resistance earned him a Truth Social post from Trump, who over the weekend shared his personal phone number in a bid to pressure the lawmaker to change his stance on Daylight Saving Time.

"Almost everybody wants "The Sunshine Protection Act" to pass, except for Tom Cotton," Trump said. "To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself."

Cotton responded, and noted that Congress has tackled Daylight Saving Time before, only to roll back the change shortly after.

"No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Saving Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter," Cotton said on X. "Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first."

Lawmakers have pushed for years to make daylight saving time permanent

Big picture view:

Lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully for years to make daylight saving time year-round. Proponents, including Trump, say the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. They’ve also said more sunlight in the evenings could boost tourism in winter months. 

Opponents have argued that permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings where children will be waiting for school buses and parents will be driving to work in darkness.

"Millions of Americans will wake up during the winter months in complete darkness with the sun not rising until long after people get up and travel to school or work or have to go about their days," said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa.

History of Daylight Saving Time

The backstory:

Daylight saving time is defined as a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of standard time. According to federal law, it always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

The practice of springing forward in the U.S. started in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. By moving the clocks ahead an hour, backers believed the country could divert a bit of coal-fired electricity to the military instead of using it for an hour of home power. It was reenacted in World War II.

It was repealed again when the war ended, but some states — and even some cities — continued to observe daylight saving time while others kept standard time year-round. That meant driving relatively short distances could result in a time change.

By 1966, airlines and other businesses tired of such quirks and pushed Congress to pass the Uniform Time Act. It codified daylight saving time, although it has been modified periodically.

Most Americans already set their clocks forward one hour each spring to preserve more evening daylight before "falling back" one hour in November.

Daylight Saving Time is observed in 48 states. Hawaii and Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time, but the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona does observe it.  Several U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands — also do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

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