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President Donald Trump on Thursday praised the House Energy and Commerce Committee for advancing legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
The committee voted 48-1 to report the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation introduced by Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Vern Buchanan. The proposal was included in a broader transportation funding measure known as the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump argued the current practice of changing clocks twice each year creates unnecessary expenses for governments and communities.
“This is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks,” Trump wrote. “Many of these Clocks are located in Towers, and the cost of renting, or using, Heavy Equipment to do this twice a year is prohibitive!”c
The president said he plans to continue pushing for the legislation to become law.
“It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production,” he wrote. “It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it! We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day, And who can be against that, This is an easy one!”
President Trump has repeatedly called for ending the biannual clock changes. Last year, he urged Congress to support legislation providing “more Daylight at the end of the day.”
“Very popular, and most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!” he wrote at the time.
Under the proposal, states that currently observe daylight saving time would permanently remain on the schedule used between March and November unless they opt out before the law takes effect.
Hawaii and most of Arizona would remain exempt because they already observe standard time year-round.
