Mother Lodge Congressman Supports Permanent Daylight Savings Time

Published Jul 15, 2026 3:30 pm

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Sonora, CA – The twice-yearly clock changes may become a thing of the past as Congress has passed the bipartisan HR 139 Sunshine Protection Act, with Mother Lode Congressman Tom McClintock voting in favor of the bill while still having reservations.

Spearheaded by Florida lawmakers, the bill makes daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time. The House voted 308-117 in favor of the bill. It now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uphill climb, as dissenters noted that in 1974 the nation tried permanent daylight saving time, and it proved “grossly unpopular in practice.” The concern was that children were walking to school in the dark, and farmers had to work without sunlight. Congressman McClintock issued the following vote statement on the bill:

“This bill ends the pointless time change that has plagued our country for more than a century and makes Daylight Saving Time permanent.  would much prefer to see us shift to standard time, which centers noon at the sun’s apex—thus avoiding driving to work or school in the dark during winter months. Daylight Saving Time was once tried and abandoned for this reason. But whether Daylight or Standard Time, getting rid of the annoying “spring ahead, fall back” nonsense is a good thing.”

Despite those reservations, 114 Democrats joined 193 Republicans to pass the bill. The White House also backs the bill. States with areas exempt from daylight saving time may choose the standard time for those areas.