want to wake up, no matter what, so that change isn't going to affect
them at all.
  Then I encourage schools and educational institutions around the
Nation, to adjust school start times based upon what they think is best
to keep kids safe.
  At the end of the day, we have talked about how it is good for
business, good for recreation, and good to help out with making sure
that we don't have this public health issue every time we are changing
the clocks back and forth. It is finally time to bring sunshine
across the Nation, and I urge my colleagues to support this amazing
Sunshine Protection Act.

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Buchanan), the original sponsor of the
bill here in the House of Representatives and my good friend. I thank
the gentleman for his persistency all these years, along with the
former Senator Rubio, who is now our Secretary of State. This has
always been a priority for both of them.
  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill,
the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time
permanent and finally end the biannual clock switch.
  Twice a year, Americans are forced to change their clocks. These
changes disrupt their schedule for no good reason. The outdated
practice is frustrating for families, workers, schools, and small
businesses across the country.
  Let me just tell you, as someone who has been in business for 30
years, this is gigantic, especially for the small business person. That
additional hour a day, at least in Florida but across the country,
makes a big difference in terms of doing business. Ideally, it helps
not just small businesses, but small businesses create most of the jobs
in Florida, as well. It is key to both.
  Polling shows that two-thirds of Americans want to unlock the clock.
My bill is simply a solution to make daylight saving time permanent.
Allowing an extra hour of sunlight in the evening gives families more
time for outside sports, activities, and school. It stimulates small
business and, as I said, job creation; retail tourism; and provides
more time for youth sports and outside recreation.
  Let me just tell you: You see a lot of kids today. The number is 20
percent of children who are obese. They need to be out more. This will
make a difference for them.
  There are also significant health benefits associated with DST that
would prevent over 200,000 cases of stroke per year. It would make a
big difference, as well, for nearly 2 million people in terms of
obesity.
  Importantly, this bill allows States to opt out in favor of standard
time if that is important to them. Nineteen States have passed the
deadline for this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Carter), another member of our committee.
  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
139, the Sunshine Protection Act.
  Twice a year, Americans lose sleep, disrupt their routines, and pay
the price for a practice that has outlived its original purpose.
  H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, ends that twice-yearly clock
change and makes daylight saving time permanent year round.
  Research shows that eliminating the biannual switch reduces the spike
in heart attacks, strokes, and workplace accidents that follow the
spring-forward transition. Ending the clock change also means fewer
disruptions to sleep patterns tied to that adjustment period.

                              {time}  1620

  On the safety side, permanent evening daylight means more daylight
during peak commuting and after-school hours, leading to fewer
pedestrian and traffic fatalities in the evening.
  As with many other policies, the impacts are more dramatic for our
less affluent neighbors. Hourly workers, shift workers, and families
relying on public transit are hit hardest by sudden schedule changes
and reduced evening visibility.
  More evening daylight reduces the need for artificial lighting and
heating in the early evening hours, which can help lower household
energy use and utility bills.
  For Louisiana families, many of whom work in agriculture, fishing,
and outdoor industries tied to the Gulf Coast, permanent daylight
saving time would mean more usable evening daylight for safer work
conditions, recreation, and valuable time with their families.
  The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the Sunshine Protection
Act because it would provide consistency and reduce disruptions for
farmers and ranchers. A stable, year-round time system makes it easier
to plan work, transportation, and market schedules. For agriculture,
ending a twice-yearly change means fewer disruptions to the schedule
that livestock and labor already depend on.
  H.R. 139 offers a simple, permanent fix: no more clock changes, more
usable evening daylight, and a system that works better for working
families, rural communities, and American agriculture.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube), a fellow Florida Gator.
  Mr. STEUBE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 139,
the Sunshine Protection Act.
  For me, this vote has been nearly a decade in the making. In 2018, at
the Braden River Barber Shop shortly after we turned back the clocks to
standard time, everyone was complaining about the change. Kids are not
waking up on time. Everyone is tired. There is a rise in health-related
issues. Nobody is able to enjoy activities in the evening. The list
went on and on.
  The question was: Why are we still changing the clocks? As a State
senator in Florida at the time, everyone looked at me and asked if we
could do something about it, so we did.
  That one conversation led to me introducing a bill in the Florida
State Senate also called the Sunshine Protection Act. I didn't know
that my friend Mr. Soto had filed it before then, so I was happy to
carry on the tradition.
  The idea was pretty simple. Florida is the Sunshine State. We should
not be forced to change our clocks twice a year and lose an hour of
usable daylight in the evening simply because of outdated Federal law.
  That legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support in
Tallahassee. In 2018, the Florida Legislature passed the Sunshine
Protection Act, and Governor Rick Scott signed it into law. There was a
catch. Florida could not actually implement the law until Congress
acted.
  The bill's success at the State level led to Congressman Vern
Buchanan introducing the Federal version of the Sunshine Protection Act
and introducing it year after year, never relenting in pushing for its
passage. The Senate even passed the legislation unanimously in 2022,
yet the House never gave it a vote.
  When I came to Congress in 2019, I continued to fight to make
permanent daylight saving time a reality. Today, Mr. Speaker, after
nearly a decade of many people working on this issue, we finally have
this opportunity.
  Americans should never again have to participate in this outdated
ritual of turning the clocks back and forth, as we can end the
disruption that comes every spring and every fall when the Federal
Government tells hundreds of millions of Americans to change their
clocks.
  Mr. Speaker, 19 States have already acted to support year-round
daylight saving time once Congress allows them to do so. Florida has
been waiting since 2018.
  Why should we make the change? The consensus that day at the
barbershop was clear for Americans. It is unhealthy and difficult on
families with young children. Kids should have more daylight after
school to play sports and be outside. Floridians should have more time
to enjoy our beaches, our parks, and the outdoors. Small businesses,
restaurants, and communities benefit when Americans have more usable
daylight in the evening.
  Today, we have an opportunity to finally fix it.

  Mr. Speaker, I thank my fellow Floridian, Congressman Vern Buchanan,
for his leadership on H.R. 139 and for his years of work on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to lock the clock. It is time to make
daylight saving time permanent. It is time for Congress to finally pass
the Sunshine Protection Act. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).
  Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone
for this opportunity to talk about the Sunshine Protection Act. I rise
in opposition to the bill and the danger it poses to our health and
safety.
  This bill, sadly, is being rushed to the floor as a political
bargaining chip without thorough consideration of the impacts, and we
have been here before.
  Permanent time is a national decision with implications for every
aspect of our health and economy. It deserves a robust, thoughtful
debate and an amendment process that allows Members to test each
provision of the bill.
  For example, we should be able to test the provision that eliminates
a State's right to opt out of daylight saving time or the decision to
``stop the clock'' on daylight saving time in the first place.
  I hear broad agreement in this Chamber and beyond that the twice-
yearly time changes have acute health consequences, but I want to talk
about the chronic long-term impacts of this bill's late winter sunrise.
  Early morning light is an important environmental cue to set our
bodies' internal clocks and promote alertness, and dim evening light
tells our bodies that it is time to sleep.