House to Slow, if Not Stop, Daylight Saving Time Bill

Lawmakers say they aren't in the rush the Senate was
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 21, 2022 4:21 PM CDT
Permanent Daylight Saving Finds Less Eagerness in House
Sunrise in Seattle. A lawmaker said year-round daylight saving time would mean it would be dark there "until like nine o'clock in the morning."   (Getty/Jin Huang)

Time might stand still for the legislation to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill sailed through the Senate last week, but House members are less sure about it, the Hill reports. Several lawmakers of both parties said that they'd like to see more research on the issue or that the war in Ukraine is dominating their time now. Also, some argue permanent standard time would be healthier. Rep. John Yarmouth said House members weren't expecting the Senate to pass the bill so quickly. "I don't know that many members have really thought through it," he said. House leaders plan a more deliberative approach, per the Washington Post.

The Biden administration isn't sure about the time change, either. White House officials are looking the bill over, as are the Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council. "I don't have a specific position from the administration at this point of time," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters last week. "We were unexpectedly sent this bill by the Senate. Now, we’re trying to absorb it," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, head of the House Democratic Caucus. A two-year trial of year-round daylight saving time wasn't extended in the 1970s. For one thing, the promised energy savings were oversold. When the Senate rejected continuing with it, President Biden was a senator but didn't case a vote; the White House has not said why.

Dark mornings were another issue. "Many, many people were getting up into pitch dark, going to work in the pitch dark, which they disliked," said David Prerau, who's written a book on the subject. "And they also disliked sending their kids to school in the dark, having to walk on dark country roads." Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she has constituents opposed "because we're in Seattle and it is so dark." If daylight saving time becomes the norm, she said, "it's gonna be dark until like 9 o'clock in the morning." (More daylight saving time stories.)

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