Sunshine Protection Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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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not be forced to change our clocks twice a year and lose an hour of usable daylight in the evening simply because of outdated Federal law.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Americans should never again have to participate in this outdated ritual of turning the clocks back and forth, as we can end the disruption that comes every spring and every fall when the Federal Government tells hundreds of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.''

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