Time Is of the Essence for Lobbyists on Daylight Saving Debate

Trade wars and tax fights rage in Washington, but lawmakers and lobbyists Thursday are taking time to shed light on another sensitive issue: whether to set the clocks back and forward.

A fight over Senate legislation to make daylight saving time permanent year-round is drawing in a who’s who of lobbying interests — including golf course owners, sleep doctors, broadcasters, and convenience store owners — as some lawmakers and their constituents push to end the twice-a-year ritual of changing the clocks.

It’s not easy to find common ground. Some interest groups argue the country should adopt permanent daylight time, while others insist that standard time is better. Some just want the US to stick with the status quo of springing clocks forward in March to daylight saving time and falling back in November to standard time.

Senators will hear those competing perspectives Thursday at a Commerce Committee hearing to consider changes to the country’s decades-old process of clock adjustments.

“I’m calling this the ‘Gordian knot’ for the Senate because there are winners and losers either way you go, if you make one of them permanent,” Jay Karen, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, said in an interview.

Golf industry denizens are divided, with some favoring keeping the current system of changing the clocks and others wanting permanent daylight saving time, according to a survey from NGCOA. Karen, who will testify at the hearing, said he’ll speak to how complex the issue is, and advocate against making standard time permanent.

“The afternoon play is about 40% more from a revenue standpoint than the morning play, so you start messing with those late hours, you’re going to be a wet blanket on the golf economy,” Karen said.

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said “understanding the implications of the time change is a priority” for him. The topic has long been ripe for debate, including inside the halls of Congress. In 2022, the Senate passed legislation by unanimous consent to make daylight saving time permanent, but it died in the House.

This year, Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Sunshine Protection Act (S. 29), which would also end the practice of changing clocks by adopting everlasting daylight time.

President Donald Trump said in December the Republican Party would look to eliminate daylight saving time. But just last month, Trump called it a “fifty-fifty issue,” indicating the strong divisions and interest groups on either side are likely to complicate its path forward.

Here’s a look at who’s pushing what:

Permanent Standard Time

Want better sleep? That’s some medical groups’ pitch to make standard time permanent, with doctors and scientists arguing the change would be the healthier choice.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the National Sleep Foundation are among the groups who’ve pushed for a change to year-round standard time. The sleep and medical groups lobbying on the issue argue standard time better regulates sleep cycles.

Karin Johnson, practicing physician and professor of neurology at UMass Chan School of Medicine Baystate, will testify at the hearing on behalf of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time

The Senate’s proposal would make daylight saving time permanent, which lawmakers and some analysts argue would help with safety issues, traffic incidents in the dark, and energy usage.

The effort reflects a push backed by states. State legislatures have considered hundreds of bills in recent years to establish year-round daylight saving time if federal law allows it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Although there is a divide on which time to make permanent, recent polls suggest a majority of Americans support eliminating the twice yearly clock changes. Scott Yates, founder of the Lock the Clock Movement who’ll testify before the panel Thursday, has appeared before state legislatures to push for stopping the time changes, but he’s been open to arguments on both sides on which to make permanent.

“The problem is there’s no natural constituency or big money to be made by fixing the clocks—in fact there is more of a profit motive in keeping things the same—so that is a big part of why nothing has happened,” Yates wrote ahead of the hearing.

Proponents of daylight time have cited positive impacts on roadways, but studies complicate the issue. The clock changing helps pedestrians and bicyclists, but can hurt motorists, a recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows. David Harkey, president of the group, will testify at the hearing.

Status Quo

There is a large camp of groups urging Congress to keep clocks at the status quo, arguing the time changes and sunlight translate into more retail sales and radio listeners.

The National Association of Convenience Stores previously told Congress it has long backed switching clocks to maximize the light all times of year, which they say positively affects commerce.

Broadcasting groups, such as the National Religious Broadcasters, have raised concerns about a change causing a “serious disruption” to airtime for AM radio stations with licenses to operate during daylight hours.

Some of the biggest lobbying groups said they’re not engaging in this debate or didn’t respond to requests for comment. But the issue has popped up on federal lobbying disclosures for decades. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, for one, disclosed lobbying on daylight saving time way back in 2001.

“It’s hard to get excited about it,” Trump said last month about the issue. “It’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way, it’s very even.”