US lawmakers propose making daylight saving time permanent, again

Supporters of the measure say the time shift causes sleep disturbances, greater workplace injuries and more car crashes.

PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON – Daylight saving time would stay in effect year-round under a US House proposal that advanced on May 21, reviving an idea that Americans weary of biannual clock switching have long supported but has repeatedly fizzled in Congress.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 48-1 in favour of the Sunshine Protection Act, which would likely implement the change as part of a five-year transportation Bill.

Supporters of the measure say the time shift causes sleep disturbances, greater workplace injuries and more car crashes. They also believe brighter evenings would spur more economic activity during winter.

President Donald Trump praised the vote on social media, saying it’s “time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production”.

The Bill still must pass the full US House, and then the US Senate would consider whether to take up the measure, which faces opposition from Republican Tom Cotton and others.

Mr Cotton has said it would result in absurdly late winter sunrises and force children to go to school in darkness in much of the country. The law would allow states to opt out.

Representative Vern Buchanan, who has put forward the idea every year since 2018, proposed it again in 2026. The plan is popular in the lawmaker’s home state of Florida because it would allow more evening hours of play on golf courses and sports fields.

Simba’s parent company Tuas terminates deal to buy shares in M1

IEA chief Fatih Birol warned that it will take “a lot of time” for production and refining capacity to return to pre-war levels.

World

Oil market risks ‘red zone’ by summer, IEA chief warns

Rising corporate earnings and “reduced headcount” from AI adoption will not benefit everyone, says the writer.

Opinion

America, home of AI, counts its winners, frets about its losers

The fire broke out at around 9pm (10pm Singpaore time).

Asia

Fire breaks out at hotel in Thailand’s Pattaya as rescue teams rush to evacuate tourists

Indian PM Narendra Modi visited Rome and gifted his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni a packet of toffee that rhymed with her surname.

Asia

India gifts Italy a toffee and breaks the internet

Contestants for Cheung Chau island’s famous “bun-scrambling” competition get to climb the bamboo tower during a training session.

Asia

A Hong Kong island gears up for its most exciting time of the year. And it’s all about buns

Tech

Fresh grads need to build at least two years of internship experience, soft skills in AI economy: Panel

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong shaking hand with a robot when he toured the Shanghai Municipal Humanoid Robot Innovation Incubator on May 21.

Asia

From tea-making to quick health check, SM Lee gets a taste of what China’s robots have to offer

The US Senate voted unanimously in March 2022 for the move but the House never voted on the measure.

Representative Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, said permanent daylight saving time is “better for safety and will boost New Jersey’s tourism industry. Let’s stop changing the clocks twice a year”.

Daylight saving time – putting the clocks forward one hour during the summer half of the year – has been in place in nearly all of the United States since the 1960s.

Year-round daylight saving time was used during World War Two and enacted again in 1974 in a bid to reduce energy use. But it was deeply unpopular and repealed later that year. REUTERS