WASHINGTON (WOWO) — The debate over whether Americans should stop changing their clocks twice a year has returned to the national spotlight, with President Donald Trump pushing for permanent daylight saving time while some Republican senators, including Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, oppose the change.
The dispute comes as legislation that would allow daylight saving time to continue year-round faces resistance in the Senate despite passing the House.
Trump has publicly urged senators to advance the measure, known as the Sunshine Protection Act. Over the weekend, he singled out Cotton for opposing the proposal and called on Arkansas voters to encourage their senator to support it.
Cotton responded that he also dislikes changing the clocks but said Congress has previously tried permanent daylight saving time and later reversed course after concerns emerged about late winter sunrises.
“No one likes changing the clock, me included,” Cotton said. “Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”
The disagreement illustrates how the daylight saving debate does not fall neatly along party lines. Lawmakers from different regions have taken opposing positions based largely on how year-round daylight saving time would affect sunrise and sunset times where they live.
Supporters argue that keeping daylight saving time year-round would eliminate the disruption of changing clocks twice annually and preserve more daylight during evening hours.
Opponents say permanent daylight saving time could result in extremely late winter sunrises, particularly in northern and western states. That could mean children heading to school and workers commuting before sunrise.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has raised concerns about the impact on families in Montana.
Daines said the change might work better in states such as Florida, where later evening sunlight can be attractive for recreational activities, but argued it would create problems in parts of Montana where winter sunrises can occur much later in the morning.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has expressed similar concerns about the effects on states farther west.
The regional divide also includes lawmakers who support making daylight saving time permanent. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., have backed Senate legislation to end the twice-yearly clock changes.
Murray has argued that many Americans are frustrated by changing their clocks and that permanent daylight saving time would provide more usable daylight during the evening.
The disagreement is not new.
Congress enacted year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s energy crisis. The policy was unpopular with many Americans, particularly because of dark winter mornings, and lawmakers repealed it after roughly a year.
The current proposal would revive the concept, but opposition in the Senate could prevent the legislation from moving forward.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., acknowledged that lawmakers have to consider how the policy would affect their individual states.
“It depends where you’re living in the country and the impact — what it would be, in your own home state,” Barrasso said. “So it’s not as simple as what one state might like.”
Timing is another obstacle.
The Senate has a limited amount of floor time remaining in the legislative calendar, particularly with lawmakers preparing for the November midterm elections. Other major issues, including annual defense legislation, additional funding measures and a potential government funding fight, are expected to compete for attention.
That leaves the future of permanent daylight saving time uncertain, even with support from the White House and the measure’s bipartisan backing.
For now, the disagreement reflects a larger question over how a single national clock policy should account for the dramatically different sunrise and sunset patterns experienced across the United States.
