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Is this the end of Daylight Saving Time?
Americans are one step closer to having to stop changing their clocks twice a year, after the Senate passed a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
NEW YORK - Lawmakers in the Senate have agreed that the time has come to end the practice of setting clocks forward in the spring and back an hour each fall. It would make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Senators unanimously passed the bipartisan "Sunshine Protection Act" Tuesday. The bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.
The ritual of falling back in the U.S. started in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. Lawmakers are citing the benefits of having more daylight. But health experts warn about the downsides of losing even an hour of sleep every year.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports a year-round fixed national clock.
If the Sunshine Protection Act was passed this would be the time schedule we would need to get used to in our area:
Earliest Summer Sunrise: 5:24 a.m.
Latest Summer Sunset: 8:32 p.m.
Latest Winter Sunrise: 8:20 a.m.
Earliest Winter Sunset: 5:47 p.m.
The U.S. has tried to end switching time before. In fact, at least 18 states have already passed laws or resolutions to permanently switch to Daylight Saving Time. But, they can't adopt the changes until federal law changes.
The bill would allow Hawaii and Arizona, which do not observe daylight saving time, to remain on standard time.
Congress passed similar legislation in 1974, but permanent Daylight Saving proved so unpopular, it was repealed after just a year.
The White House has not yet specified whether Biden supports it.