Trump Endorses Permanent Daylight Saving Time
As millions of Americans drag themselves out of bed cursing (or celebrating) daylight saving time, Donald Trump announced that he is in favor of making the time shift permanent.
In a morning tweet, the president weighed in on the topic that has been on everyone’s minds this weekend.
“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me,” he wrote.
Trump isn’t the only politician who has the time shift in their crosshairs. Several states including California have mulled making the change permanent, and three Florida lawmakers introduced a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act to do the same for the entire country.
Governor Rick Scott signed a bill in Florida that would make daylight saving time permanent in the state, but it can’t go into effect until Washington gets behind the idea. While states can opt out of daylight saving, as Hawaii, Arizona, and Puerto Rico do, they can’t opt into a permanent state of daylight saving.
“I was glad to sign legislation as governor to continue Daylight Saving Time year-round for Floridians, and now join Senator Rubio to lead this effort in Congress,” Scott said, according to The Hill. “The Sunshine Protection Act will allow Floridians and visitors to enjoy our beautiful state even later in the day, and will benefit Florida’s tourism industry, which just celebrated another record year.”
“Reflecting the will of the State of Florida, I’m proud to reintroduce this bill to also make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationally,” Rubio added.
New Hampshire is trying to get around the issue by shifting into the Atlantic time zone, which would put the state an hour ahead, and then it could opt out of daylight saving time. Shifting time zones doesn’t require action from Congress, just approval from the Transportation Department.
Many argue that our daily lives aren’t the same as they were when the time-shifting change was introduced in 1918 and entrenched in 1966. Every year, daylight saving time causes an increase in health issues and costs us millions of dollars. But part of the problem is that everyone needs to be in on the change or it can rapidly get confusing when you drive from state to state.
For those who are dragging after losing an hour of sleep this weekend, hang in there. It takes about a week for your body to adjust and Monday is officially national napping day, so you can take an afternoon snooze guilt free to help boost your energy level if it is starting to flag.
Today is #NationalNappingDay. To celebrate I'm going to take an early morning nap, then a late morning nap, then an afternoon nap, then maybe an early evening nap. So really, no different than any other day. Heehee. ??? pic.twitter.com/s7jvgFnxVv
— Yuan Meng (@YuanMengPanda) March 11, 2019
