A bipartisan effort to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is one step closer to becoming law after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure on Tuesday.Lawmakers voted 308-117 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to voluntarily observe Daylight Saving Time year-round as a growing mass of lawmakers push to extend daylight into the evening hours."For decades, we have accepted this ritual of springing forward and falling back, even though it disrupts routines, throws off our sleep, and creates unnecessary frustration for families across the country," Rep.Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said Tuesday, detailing how the clock changes have disrupted her infant son's sleep schedule."Let's stop asking Americans to reset their clocks every March and November," she continued.
"Let's provide some certainty and consistency, and a little more sunshine at the end of the day."House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attends a news conference at the U.S.Capitol in Washington, D.C.
(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)TRUMP-BACKED DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BILL CLEARS KEY HOUSE HURDLEThe legislation divided lawmakers in both parties, with members largely from coastal areas, such as Louisiana, Florida and New Jersey, supporting permanent Daylight Saving Time and others from the Midwest and agriculture-heavy states opposing it.Democrats were nearly evenly split, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., voting "no." Just 22 Republicans voted in opposition, including Reps.Bryan Steil, R-Wis., Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo. The measure now heads to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain amid skepticism from members of both parties.
President Donald Trump, who has long called for ending the twice-a-year clock changes, is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.The White House urged lawmakers to support the Sunshine Protection Act in an internal memo sent to Hill offices Tuesday, call...