Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – In a divided Washington Republicans and Democrats seem to agree that the two-yearly change of clocks must end.

It is not clear, however, if the county can agree to a common standard of time even with this rare bipartisan agreement.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation making daylight saving (DST), permanent. This would mean that Americans no longer have to either “fall back” to set their clocks or “spring forward”.

Jason Kander (Democrat, former Missouri Secretary of State) tweeted: “I want to take’setting clocks’ back in a field.

Jen Psaki (White House spokeswoman) declined to give a position on the Senate bill. Psaki stated Wednesday that she did not have any specific positions from the Administration at this time.

Surprised by the Senate’s quick approval, the House of Representatives’ lawmakers promised that they would also address the matter.

Hakeem Jeffries of the Democratic Party, who is a member in good standing of the House leadership said “It was unanticipated.” “I believe it’s a significant step that we should make.”

According to opinion polls, Americans dislike the shift from Standard Time which maximizes daylight in winter mornings and daylight savings time which defers sunset for an hour throughout spring, summer, and fall. All states in the United States, except Arizona and Hawaii toggle between them.

There are also many negatives that researchers have discovered, like a spike in strokes, heart attacks, and sleep loss in the hours following a March clock change.

A less consensus exists as to which standard Congress should set permanent.

Daylight saving advocates argue that daylight savings time increases economic activity, reduces crime, and decreases traffic accidents during the evening rush hour. This is when drivers are more likely have alcohol in their systems and children are more likely be outside playing.

Professor Steve Calandrillo, University of Washington Law professor said last week in testimony before Congress that it was past time to set the clock forward forever.

According to sleep researchers, standard time aligns with the human biological clock. This requires light for full alertness.

According to Beth Malow, a Vanderbilt University neurologist, a year-round daylight savings time would force children to attend school at night and make it harder for them to get to sleep on time.

In 1918, Daylight Savings Time was established to save fuel in World War I. The Congressional Research Service says that studies have not shown any energy savings, if any.

In 1974, when oil prices rose sharply in the United States, Congress attempted to establish a year-round daylight savings time. However it was dropped that fall.

Recent years have seen a growing support for establishing a permanent standard. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states have passed legislation to allow year-round DST since 2018.

Frank Pallone (Democratic Representative), who presided over a hearing last week on the subject but is yet to decide which time to endorse, said that “I am hopeful that we will end the silliness in the current system soon”.

Other people stated they are not interested in switching to a higher standard, which would cause dark winter mornings.

“I prefer standard time permanent (as would research). However, I’ll take any time if #LocktheClock is possible

Many people wondered why the Senate was so slow to act on major issues like climate change and voting rights.

This is stupid, and it shows how corrupted our moral conscience has become! Rev. William Barber III is a civil-rights leader who wrote on Twitter.

Others turned to humor. Eric Garland, geopolitical analyst tweeted “Breaking: CONGRESS MAY DO SOMETHING AWESOME.”