Senate bill would keep daylight saving time during pandemic
Who needs an extra hour in 2020, anyway?
Two Republican senators have introduced a bill that would keep the U.S. on daylight saving time through at least November 2021, an effort to provide more sunshine and stability for families already dealing with numerous disruptions during the pandemic.
“Our government has asked a lot of the American people over the past seven months, and keeping the nation on Daylight Saving Time is just one small step we can take to help ease the burden,” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday. “More daylight in the after school hours is critical to helping families and children endure this challenging school year.”
Rubio and fellow Floridian Rick Scott, who co-sponsored the bill, have long been pushing to make daylight saving time permanent across the country. They noted this week that multiple studies over the years have shown the benefits of locking the clock, including a reduction in energy use, criminal activity and car crashes.
If their proposal fails, most U.S. states will turn their clocks back one hour and return to standard time in just six weeks.
“After months of staying inside amid the coronavirus pandemic, families across the nation could use a little more sunshine and time to enjoy all that Florida has to offer,” Scott said in a statement.
Florida’s legislature passed a year-round daylight saving time bill in 2018, when Scott was governor and supported the measure. But the change cannot take effect without federal authorization, which Rubio has been pushing for since last year.
Delaware, Maine, South Carolina and eight other states have passed similar bills and several others, including New York, are looking to join the group.
The twice-a-year tradition began in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act into law. The unpopular clock change has gone through a bumpy ride ever since but continues to survive attempts to repeal it.
Studies cited by Rubio and Scott say that locking the clock could cut the number of robberies by 27%, increase physical fitness and reduce the number of crashes involving pedestrians by improving visibility for drivers heading home after work. One study found a 25% increase in heart attacks the Monday after clocks are changed.
But opponents of the proposal claim that permanent daylight saving time would also present numerous health problems because, among other factors, it could reduce sleep duration, resulting in a series of significant health effects.
Rubio plans to bypass a Senate committee and add the bill directly to the chamber’s calendar so a vote can be called before Nov. 1.
———
©2020 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
