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Group of bipartisan senators pushes for permanent Daylight Saving Time

By Caitlin O'Kane

Americans are about to "spring forward" and adjust their clocks for Daylight Saving Time, and a group of lawmakers wants to make it the last clock change ever. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to keep DST so that come November, Americans don't have to "fall back" and adjust their clocks again. 

The so-called "Sunshine Protection Act of 2021" was reintroduced by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Lankford. R-OK, Roy Blunt, R-MO, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, Ron Wyden, D-OR, Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS, Rick Scott, R-FL, and Ed Markey, D-MA, on Tuesday.

In 2018, Florida passed legislation to keep DST, but a federal statue is require for the state to enact the change, according to a press release from Rubio. 

Fifteen other states, including California, Louisiana, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Washington, have passed similar initiatives to keep DST year-round and dozens of other states are looking into doing the same, according to the press release. 

The "Sunshine Protection Act of 2021" would apply to states who participate in DST by negating Standard Time, which only lasts between November to March, when Americans turn their clocks back one hour. 

So, if the bill is passed, Americans would keep DST, which currently lasts from March to November, and wouldn't have to change their clocks twice a year. 

DST was first enacted in the U.S. due to Germany's efforts to conserve fuel during World War I in 1916, according to a fact sheet from Rubio's office. Its length has changed over the years and some years the U.S. has kept year-round DST, such as 1942-1945 and 1974-1975.