Daylight Saving Time

Rep. Bill Foster Asks Constituents Whether Daylight Saving Time Should be Permanent

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While the fate of a bill to make daylight saving time permanent remains unclear, one suburban Congressman is asking his constituents what they think of the measure.

Rep. Bill Foster, whose 11th District includes portions of Aurora, Naperville and Joliet, sent out an email to constituents this weekend asking their opinion on the idea of putting the United States into daylight saving time permanently.

In the poll, Foster asks constituents whether they want to keep the current system, springing clocks ahead in the spring and dropping them back in the fall, making either daylight saving or standard time permanent, or whether they are unsure about the proposal.

Under the bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, the United States would spring clocks ahead next March, then would leave that as the permanent time. Arizona and Hawaii would be exempt from the measure, as neither state currently uses daylight saving time.

The debate on whether to alter clocks has continued since then, with the House showing a reluctance to take up the measure with other bills on Ukraine and defense spending taking up the majority of time in the chamber.

According to a poll conducted by Monmouth University, 35% of Americans favor keeping the current system. A YouGov poll found that 59% of Americans would like to see daylight saving time be made permanent, according to a story by FiveThirtyEight.

The bill, called the "Sunshine Protection Act," has not been scheduled for debate in the House, and it is unclear whether President Joe Biden would sign the measure if it passes.

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