WASHINGTON, July 17 (DC Times Online) — The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would end the twice-yearly clock change and keep the United States on daylight saving time year-round.
Lawmakers approved H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, in Washington, D.C., by a vote of 308-117 on July 14, 2026, according to Reuters, NBC News, The New York Times and CBS News. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce later said in a press release that the bill passed the chamber and described it as a step toward making daylight saving time permanent.
What would the bill do?
Daylight saving time is the period each year when clocks are moved forward by one hour, usually in the spring, and then set back again in the fall. The bill passed by the House would keep that schedule in place all year instead of switching back to standard time.
The committee said Rep. Vern Buchanan called the measure his bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act. In the same release, Rep. Brett Guthrie and Rep. Gus Bilirakis were also identified as part of the effort. Buchanan said the House had taken “an important step toward ending the outdated practice of changing our clocks twice a year.”
Why does this matter?
Supporters say permanent daylight saving time would simplify daily life by removing the clock changes that many people find confusing or disruptive. Opponents have long argued over which time system is best, but the House vote shows broad support for changing the current system.
The legislation also appears designed with some flexibility for states. Reuters, NBC News, CBS News and The New York Times reported that the bill would allow states to opt out or seek exemptions in some form, although the descriptions varied across the reports.
CBS News noted that Hawaii and most of Arizona already use standard time year-round, so they do not follow the same seasonal clock changes as most of the country.
What happens next?
Reuters reported that the bill now goes to the Senate. That means the House vote does not make the change law by itself. The Senate would still have to act before the proposal could reach the president.
The Energy and Commerce Committee also said the Sunshine Protection Act had previously been included in the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which the committee advanced by a 48-1 vote.
For now, the House vote is the clearest sign yet that lawmakers are still willing to revisit how the country tells time.
