Sunshine Protection Act of 2021

Madam President, let me cut right to the chase here before I get into a statement.

As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration of S. 623, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Rubio substitute at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, as the day goes on, I look forward to others who will be coming to the floor here in a moment. You will see it is an eclectic collection of Members of the U.S. Senate in favor of what we have just done here in the Senate, and that is to pass a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.

Just this past weekend, we all went through that biannual ritual of changing the clock back and forth and the disruption that comes with it. And one has to ask themselves after a while: Why do we keep doing it? Why are we doing this?

This really began back in 1918 as a practice that was supposed to save energy, and since then we have adjusted it.

Today, daylight saving time, which started out as 6 months, was extended to 8 months in 2005, clearly showing you what people's preference was. So we are doing this back-and-forth of clock-changing for about 16 weeks of standard time a year.

Now, I think the majority of the American people's preference is just to stop the back-and-forth changing. But beyond that, I think their preference is, certainly, at least based on today's vote and what we have heard, is to make daylight saving time permanent.

I will just tell you a couple of the reasons why I think that is important. There is some strong science behind it that is now showing and making people aware of the harm that clock-switching has. We see an increase in heart attacks and car accidents and pedestrian accidents in the week that follow the changes.

The benefits of daylight saving time have also been accounted for in the research; for example, reduced crime, as there is light later in the day. We have seen decreases in child obesity, a decrease in seasonal depression that many feel during standard time, and then the practical one and the one that I have witnessed with my own eyes.

In many parts of this country--understand, we are a country where we desperately want our kids to be outside, to be playing, to be doing sports, not just to be sitting in front of a TV or a computer terminal or playing video games all day. And it gets really tough in many parts of the country to be able to do that because what ends up happening is, especially for these 16 weeks a year, if you don't have a park or an outdoor facility with lights, you are basically shut down around 5 p.m., in some places as early as 4, 4:30 p.m. And these lights in parks and things like that are expensive, and then a lot of communities are resistant to them, right?

I have seen it with my own eyes. I have watched sporting events be called--youth sporting events--in the middle or near the end of the game before it has actually concluded because there is not enough light.

So I just think that is one of the practical reasons why, if you look at the way we live in this country, you want to have the ability to spend more time in the evenings outdoors, not just to enjoy the outdoors but to make sporting and outdoor activities available for people at a time when, frankly, we are losing an hour, an hour and a half in some parts of the country because of daylight.

So I am hoping that after today, this will go over to the House, and they will act quickly on it.

I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it is one of those issues where there is a lot of agreement, and I think a lot of people wonder why it took so long to get here.

So my hope is that after we are done here today, that the House will take it up; that the House will pass it; and that the President will sign it.

I just want to lay out one caveat. This bill and the amendment does delay its implementation, and the reason why--and I asked. Believe me, I asked: Why are we delaying this? And I think it is important. We are delaying it until November of 2023 because airlines, the rails, transportation methods, others have already built out schedules based on the existing timeline of this. And so they have asked for a few additional months here--from industries like broadcasters and airlines--to make that adjustment.

But the good news is that if we can get this passed, we don't have to keep doing this stupidity anymore. And why we would enshrine this in our laws and keep it for so long is beyond me, but hopefully this is the year that this gets done.

And pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, first of all, I would like to say thanks to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for getting out here today and starting down the road to making daylight saving time permanent.

I cannot overstate how grateful I am that this bill passed this Chamber just a few minutes ago by unanimous consent. It is especially timely given that we all had to change our clocks this past weekend, and we are now experiencing longer, sunnier days, but it would be better news if longer, sunnier days were a new norm and not a cause for a temporary, seasonal celebration, which is why I hope my colleagues in the House of Representatives pass this bill quickly.

The practice of springing forward impacts folks across the Nation and has far-reaching benefits beyond the obvious but enjoyable hour of daylight that brings happy, happy times to everybody.

Alabamians have made this clear. Since I joined Senator Rubio in the effort to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, the phones in my office have been absolutely ringing off the hook in support of permanently adopting daylight saving time--from moms and dads who want more daylight time before putting their kids to bed so dinnertime doesn't feel like bedtime and from elderly people who want more Sun in the evenings in order to take a walk or enjoy working in their yards. For farmers, who could use the extra daylight to work in the fields, it is a better business model and adds to the bottom line.

But it is not just people in the State of Alabama; Americans across the country want to make daylight saving time permanent. In fact, it is worth noting that this bill has bipartisan support, evidenced by the fact that it passed with no objection here in the Senate mere moments ago. It is no secret how rare that is here in this Chamber.

Locking the clock, or doing away with the twice-a-year time change, is a simple measure that would have far-reaching results. For example, from a health perspective, cases of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, are much more common in the winter months than in the summer months. From an economic perspective, the time change costs the U.S. economy an estimated $430 million annually when accounting for lost productivity. It is simply common sense to update this outdated practice.

Daylight saving time began as a temporary measure during World War I to conserve energy, but in the last century, our world has changed dramatically. What might have made sense during 1918 does not make sense today. That is why Alabama, along with 17 other State legislatures, has passed legislation or resolutions to flip the switch on this outdated practice and permanently increase our daylight hours, but these changes at the State level cannot take place until a Federal law is passed. We have taken the first step today in the Senate by passing this bill. Now it is on the House's side.

Again, my thanks to Senator Rubio and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I hope the House acts quickly so we can get this to the President's desk and get the results that the American people want, and that is more sunshine.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I want to join with the Senator from the Sunshine State, letting him know that the Senator from the Bay State, the Senator from the Ocean State, we share a common agenda. We bridge ideological divisions--liberal Democrats from the Northeast, conservative Republicans from Florida coming together to show that this institution can work.

And why is that?

Well, it is because we know that daylight saving time helps to turn the corners of people's mouths upward into a smile. It is sunshine and smiles.

We have only had daylight saving time so far for 2 days, but all across the country, people are out in the evening with the extra daylight. Little League can start. People taking their evening walks feel more safe. People can just walk down to the town square, knowing that the daylight is out there.

And so this is something that should be bipartisan. It should bring us all together, and I thank the Senator from Florida for his leadership on this issue.

And so many people are wondering, can the Congress work? And I think here is something that does have a big impact on every American life, and getting that extra hour of daylight of sunshine into people's lives is absolutely essential.

So we have been working, you know, together to, once and for all, deal with this issue of springing forward and falling back, and that is to make daylight saving time permanent.

This past Sunday, Americans had to once again change their clocks, all because of the outdated government policy on daylight saving time. This biannual ritual of toggling between daylight saving time and standard time isn't just an inconvenience to people everywhere, it has real repercussions on our economy and our daily lives.

Studies have found that year-round daylight saving time would improve public health, public safety, energy policy, mental health--an especially important commitment after this cold and dark COVID winter.

Seasonal affective disorder is real, and when they get that extra hour of Sun in the evening, it helps tens of millions of people all across the country to finally put the winter into a rearview mirror. But let's be honest. Spring really starts when we spring forward to daylight saving time.

So daylight saving time brings sunshine, smiles, and savings to every person in the country. And more evening sunshine also leads to fewer traffic fatalities, increased economic activity, and more recreation time. From afterwork shopping to Little League games and family bike rides, an extra hour of evening sunshine puts a spring in our step and offers a great reason to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.

The case for permanent daylight saving time is clear. So let's go from polar to solar. Let's finally make that change in our country because cutting back on the Sun during the fall and winter is a drain on the American people. We must pass the Sunshine Protection Act and make daylight saving time permanent once and for all.

This is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together and do something that really helps the American people feel better about themselves every single day of the year.

Madam President, today, the Senate has finally delivered on something Americans all over the country want: to never have to change their clocks again.

My colleague Senator Rubio and I have finally passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan bill to finally make daylight saving time permanent.

This past weekend, Americans from Washington State to Florida had to lose an hour of sleep for absolutely no reason. This is a burden and a headache we don't need. Any parent who has worked so hard to get a newborn or a toddler on a regular sleeping schedule

understands the absolute chaos changing our clocks creates and for no good reason. There is enough going on as it is, and we can fix this one inconvenience and stress pretty easily.

And if the House follows the lead of the U.S. Senate, we can make it so no one anywhere has to change their clocks by making daylight saving time permanent.

I hope my colleagues in the House and everyone can understand that no one wants to see the Sun set at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, which it currently does in the winter for those of us on the west coast.

In just this Congress, we have passed major bipartisan bills to strengthen supply chains and promote American manufacturing and make a generational investment in our infrastructure. Let's keep up that bipartisanship and make daylight saving time permanent.

Voters throughout the Pacific time zone have made clear they are ready for permanent daylight saving time. In California, Oregon, Idaho, and my home State of Washington, we have all passed laws to adopt permanent daylight saving time as soon as Congress acts. So many other States are on the same page. These States need us to take action at the Federal level.

This is a simple, commonsense measure that we can all take back to our constituents that does away with the completely unnecessary inconvenience in everyone's lives. No more dark afternoons in the winter. No more losing an hour of sleep every spring. We want more sunshine during our most productive waking hours.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression. People in this country all the way from Seattle to Miami want the Sunshine Protection Act.

We got it passed here in the Senate. Now the clock is ticking to get the job done so we don't have to switch our clocks again.

So I urge my colleagues in the House to act swiftly, as we have done, to get this bill on President Biden's desk and deliver sunshine to Americans across the country.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I am happy to bring the voice of the Ocean State to the floor today as an original cosponsor of Senator Rubio's bill to make daylight saving time permanent. I hope very much that we can actually agree to this on the floor today and hope for similar action in the House.

Pretty much everybody in Rhode Island experiences the same thing on that unhappy day in early November. It is usually the 6th or the 7th, when suddenly an hour of your day, an hour of your daylight, disappears and dusk comes an hour earlier.

And it is a sad time. People are unhappy. It does darken our lives in a very literal sense. And by the time you get from November, when we fall back, to the shortest day of the year in December, the 21st, I think it is, we have sunset in Rhode Island at 4:15--4:15. That means everybody is driving home, if they work regular 9-to-5 hours--they are driving home in the pitch dark, and there is no real need for it. So let's make it 5:15 instead.

Now, granted, there are people who are up between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning who will lose their hour of daylight, but there are a lot fewer people up and about between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning than there are between 4:15 and 5:15 in the afternoon.

And particularly in that afternoon hour, that is when kids have come home from school, and you would like to have them run around outside a little bit more. That is when people are doing errands, and it would be nice if there were some daylight for that.

So I am eager to be rid of ``fall back,'' and this would give us a chance for Americans all across the country to be rid of ``fall back'' and make daylight saving time permanent and to add a little sunlight into most people's lives.

With that, I will recognize the distinguished chairman of our Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Let me make it clear to anybody who is watching that they just saw this measure pass. We have just passed the bill to end the return to daylight saving time--to make daylight saving time permanent.

I yield the floor.

With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.