Posted on 10/29/2025 8:12:15 AM PDT by Red Badger
A bipartisan group of lawmakers sought unanimous consent approval for a bill that would stop the changing of the clocks.
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Sen. Tom Cotton wasn’t fast enough in 2022 to block Senate passage of legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent. Three years later, he wasn’t about to repeat that same mistake.
The Arkansas Republican was on hand Tuesday afternoon to thwart a bipartisan effort on the chamber floor to pass a bill that would put an end to changing the clocks twice a year, including this coming Sunday.
“If permanent Daylight Savings Time becomes the law of the land, it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans,” said Cotton in his objection to a request by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to advance the bill by unanimous consent.
“For many Arkansans, permanent daylight savings time would mean the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8:00 or even 8:30am during the dead of winter,” Cotton continued. “The darkness of permanent savings time would be especially harmful for school children and working Americans.”
A cross-party coalition of lawmakers has been trying for years to make daylight saving time the default, which would result in more daylight in the evening hours with less in the morning, plus bring to a halt to biannual clock adjustments.
President Donald Trump endorsed the concept this spring, calling the changing of the clocks “a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
His comments coincided with a hearing, then a markup, of Scott’s legislation in the Senate Commerce Committee. It set off an intense lobbying battle in turn, pitting the golf and retail industries — which are advocating for permanent daylight saving time — against the likes of sleep doctors and Christian radio broadcasters — who prefer standard time.
Joined by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in calling for the Senate to pass the bill Tuesday, Scott cited states’ rights as a major reason for his support for the so-called “Sunshine Protection Act.”
“It allows the people of each state to choose what best fits their needs and the needs of their families,” said Scott. “The American people are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year. It’s confusing, unnecessary and completely outdated.”
There was hope earlier this year that momentum was growing for the quixotic legislative campaign after progress stalled following senators’ success in 2022 to pass a version of Scott’s bill by unanimous consent — an outcome typically reserved for noncontroversial bills that took lawmakers by surprise.
Cotton on Tuesday decried the “abject failure” of the last time Congress enacted permanent daylight saving time in 1974, pledging to always oppose legislation that would do just that.
He said he took “full responsibility” for dropping the ball in 2022, explaining he hadn’t adequately communicated the extent of his opposition and that he had expected another senator to object.
Schools have earlier starting times than in the past because now both parents are working, and need to get to work. If you move school start time back, then you also need to move work start time back. At that point, you are basically for DST, just without calling it DST. We’d shift our school/work start times twice a year, just without changing the clock.
Keeping standard time would solve the issue, but make summer less fun. Just learn to change your clocks.
omni-scientist wrote: “Well, here’s something to think about: What if the entire world just used UTC (Zulu) time. That way there is no ambiguity, everyone is on the same time.”
I can only imagine all the complaints. People would be on the same clock time but they would be on a different sun time. Some would go to work at 8AM while some would be going home from work at 8AM.
There really isn’t a way to set time that all can agree to or that will make all happy.
Whatever it is- i hate turning the clocks back an hour in November- but it is necessary for a few months through the end of January because its pitch black when the busses pick up kids in the morning...
Not every business would change work times. Hospitals, government offices, the military, farms (cows don’t use clocks), manufacturing, etc. would not bother changing work hours and would save money not changing clocks.
The only benefits are to school and retail, the vast majority of Americans would benefit from picking a time and sticking to it.
And yes, many will bitch the first year or two, just like they do now, because people hate change.
Put it back like it was, no DST,
You’re very confused.
if everyone was on standard time, ALL the time, airline schedules would be even easier.
it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans,
Winter IS a dark and dismal time. Shifting around the time doesn't change the fact that you only have 9 hours of daylight, unless Congress can detilt the Earth.
“Is it really too hard to change time twice a year?”
Not really. We are a spoiled society and people find things to complain about.
There is humor in having this discussion, now, when there are finally available atomic clocks (at least in the continental US) that can automatically make this adjustment. In other words - we cancel something, just as soon as all the money has been spent to technologically support it.
I will say that I am in favor of abandoning the time change for several reasons:
1) My dogs cannot read a clock.
2) Not all of my clocks self-adjust.
3) I now benefit from using Solar Energy and the Sun doesn’t care what the clock is set to, anymore than my dogs.
Why not split the difference? Just set the clocks to a half hour between and leave them there? There are other countries that do
Split the damn difference, move it 30:00 and piss off both sides.
When you come to an agreement that makes both sides mad, you know it’s fair.
I don't care which time they choose. Just pick one.
Henchster wrote: “You’re very confused. if everyone was on standard time, ALL the time, airline schedules would be even easier.”
Airline fares are very much a function of time of day. How do you account for that?
Hey, Cotton, we have this thing now, called electricity. They say it can light up darkness, and it’s just about everywhere, even in rural Arkansas!
Turning the clocks back in November is when DST ends and we return to normal, standard time.
Which is why DST should be ended and certainly not be made permanent. Cotton is right.
“I agree with Senator Cotton. We should change the clocks back to Standard Time next week for the last time and be done with it.”
I completely agree! Having it dark in the winter in the mornings when people are driving to work is much worse than having the sun set an hour later in the summer. I’m retired, so it’s not much of an issue for me personally, but I know the roads would be much less safe on winter mornings if we went to year round DST.
LOL - that was an old Candid Camera skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wf4KZWpLns
I was a kid when they started doing this. I thought it was stupid.........
Man’s folly. Any time “ Man” and his “ science” (or reasoning) departs from God’s word and his creation, it always ends up one big Snafu.
Messing with “ Time” by the way of adjusting clocks is plain stupid.
LOL - that was an old Candid Camera skit:
This link has a few different clips than the one above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxfZIc4tioY
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