It’s Time to Save Standard Time
21st May 2026
Every March and November, Americans dread the notification in their inbox or on the news to “Remember to change your clocks!” Most of us rely on the adage “Fall back in fall—spring forward in spring” to sort out the confusion of which way the clock is moving. But you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who gets excited about the biannual shift.
However, many Americans do love the later hours of sunlight daylight saving time affords. With equal fervor, others, particularly older people, dislike the thought of getting up in the dark that accompanies it.
It is this lack of consensus, as well as significant pushback from health experts, that has stalled the “Sunshine Protection Act” (H.R. 139) in the House Energy and Commerce Committee since the beginning of 2025. The broader effort to pass similar versions of the bill has been ongoing since 2018.
Now, it looks as if the sun will rise again on an amendment to make DST permanent for all states, and without much notice.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce late Tuesday night announced a markup meeting for Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. On the agenda was a proposal to fold the language of the Sunshine Protection Act into the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act (H.R.7389).
This latest attempt would mandate permanent daylight saving time in all states that don’t self-exempt before its effective date, and it would prevent self-exemption after its effective date.