In a rare moment of bipartisanship, Republican and Democrat lawmakers have agreed that America must strongly consider ending Daylight Saving Time (DST).
During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle discussed the benefits of ending the biannual practice of changing the clocks by one hour.
Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that Daylight Savings is grounded in good-faith efforts to reduce energy consumption.
However, instead, the practice has led to increased auto accidents in the dark, workplace issues, and objections from the agriculture sector that relies on early-morning sunlight.
“We find ourselves adjusting our clocks… springing forward and falling back in the fall,” Cruz said.
“For many Americans, this biannual ritual is a minor inconvenience…
“But when we take a closer look at the implications of changing the clocks, its impact on our economy, our health and our everyday lives, we can see that this practice is more than an annoyance.”
“The idea was simple: Fewer hours of darkness meant less electricity consumption for lighting and heating.”
However, unlike the early 1900s, when the U.S. economy was heavily reliant on energy consumption tied to daylight hours, today’s effects from sunrise and sunset timings are “de minimis,” he said.
Cruz spoke about the health concerns associated with changing the time twice a year and with the permanence of Daylight Savings versus Standard Time.
The senator’s remarks were supported by Massachusetts neurologist Dr. Karin Johnson.
“Research has shown that the abrupt shift in time, especially the spring transition when we lose an hour of sleep,” Cruz said.
Johnson also spoke about the effects on people’s circadian rhythms, vascular systems, and sleep deprivation.
The panel also hosted an official from the National Golf Course Owners Association, as he and other lawmakers spoke of the increased revenue from evening tee times and other tourist activities only possible during daylight hours.
On the Democrat side, Sen. Lisa Blunt-Rochester of Delaware agreed that it was time to consider a “permanent time for our country.”
She noted then-Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) bill to abolish DST stalled in the House.
However, while many agreed that it’s time to end the changes, there still appears to be some disagreement on whether Daylight Savings or Standard Time would become permanent.
“This body [then] took a harder look at how time changes work state-by-state,” she said.
“What works in my home state of Delaware may not work in Washington state, but I know I speak for many Americans when I say it’s time.
“It’s time to figure this out.”
Witnesses to the hearing noted that it is indeed southern states like Florida and Texas where the negative effects of a permanent Daylight Saving Time would be most felt.
Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) spoke about his work shifting Daylight Saving Time twice to help assuage some of the issues that were brought up each time, including better guaranteeing that trick-or-treating happens at worst at dusk.
Markey quipped that his decades-long work on this issue earned him the nickname “the Sun King.”
“We need to stop the clock,” Blunt-Rochester said.
“We know that changing the clock disrupts sleep, which can lead to negative health outcomes.
“Several studies have noted issues with mood disturbances increase hospital admissions, and even heart attacks and strokes.”
Lock The Clock movement founder, Scott Yates, testified about the flawed history of DST.
He noted a time during the 1970s energy crisis when the Nixon administration briefly made DST permanent.
Nixon signed the law in December 1973 while embroiled in Watergate – but it took effect the first week the following year – Jan. 6, 1974.
“So you can imagine, the worst Monday of the year already is the one after the holiday break where you have to go back to school and everything – to have an extra hour of sleep robbed away right before that,” Yates said, noting that months later, Nixon resigned.
“You can understand why it was so unpopular and why it was repealed.”
The burglary by the “Plumbers” at the Watergate Hotel also notably occurred during nighttime hours.
“So maybe – if we had more daylight, the Watergate break-in doesn’t happen,” Cruz quipped in response.
“And history would be different.”
READ MORE – Trump Urges Republicans to Eliminate Daylight Savings Time
