Sunshine Protection Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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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.

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.

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