ICYMI from March 2021: Senators Murray and Rubio pen Op-Ed calling for permanent Daylight Saving Time – MORE HERE
ICYMI: Senator Murray: Make This The Last Weekend We Change Our Clocks – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “Today the Senate has finally delivered on something Americans all over the country want: to never have to change their clocks again… No more dark afternoons in the winter. No more losing an hour of sleep every spring. We want more sunshine during our most productive waking hours.”
***WATCH VIDEO OF SENATOR MURRAY’S FLOOR SPEECH HERE***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke on the Senate floor after the Senate passed her and Senator Marco Rubio’s bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent, which would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent.
“Today the Senate has finally delivered on something Americans all over the country want: to never have to change their clocks again,” said Senator Murray. “No more dark afternoons in the winter. No more losing an hour of sleep every spring. We want more sunshine during our most productive waking hours. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression—people in this country, all the way from Seattle to Miami, want the Sunshine Protection Act.”
“The clock is ticking to get the job done so we never have to switch our clocks again. So I urge my colleagues in the House to act as swiftly as the Senate let’s get this bill on President Biden’s desk and deliver more sunshine to Americans across the country.”
Senator Murray has been a strong proponent of making DST permanent, expressing her support after Governor Inslee signed legislation into law to make DST permanent in Washington state. Last year, Senator Murray co-authored an op-ed with Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio on the need to pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, legislation to extend DST permanently, so Americans can enjoy having sunlight during their most productive hours of the day and never have to worry about changing their clocks again.
Senator Murray’s remarks as prepared for delivery are included below:
M. President, today the Senate has finally delivered on something Americans all over the country want: to never have to change their clocks again.
My colleague Senator Rubio and I have finally passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bipartisan bill to finally make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
This past weekend, Americans from Washington state to Florida had to lose an hour of sleep for absolutely no reason. This is a burden and a headache that we just don’t need.
Any parent who has worked so hard to get a newborn or toddler on a regular sleeping schedule understands the absolute chaos changing our clocks creates—and for no good reason.
There is enough going on as it is—and we can fix this one inconvenience pretty easily.
And if the House follows the lead of the United States Senate— we can make it so no one in this country will have to change their clocks again, by making Daylight Saving Time permanent.
I hope my colleagues in the House can understand that no one wants the sun to set at four o’clock in the afternoon—which it currently does during the winter for those of us on the West Coast.
In just this Congress, we’ve passed major bipartisan bills to strengthen supply chains, promote American manufacturing, and make a generational investment in our infrastructure let’s keep up the bipartisanship and make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Voters throughout the Pacific Time Zone have made clear that they are ready for permanent Daylight Saving Time: California, Oregon, Idaho, and my home state of Washington have all passed laws to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time as soon as Congress acts. So many other states are on the exact same page.
These states need us to take action at the federal level. This is such a simple, common-sense measure that we can all take back to our constituents that does away with a completely unnecessary inconvenience in everyone’s life.
No more dark afternoons in the winter.
No more losing an hour of sleep every spring.
We want more sunshine during our most productive waking hours.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression—people in this country, all the way from Seattle to Miami, want the Sunshine Protection Act.
We got it passed the Senate, and now the clock is ticking to get the job done so we never have to switch our clocks again.
So I urge my colleagues in the House to act as swiftly as the Senate—let’s get this bill on President Biden’s desk and deliver more sunshine to Americans across the country.
###
English 
Spanish