'An idea who's time has come': Senate passes proposal to make daylight saving time permanent

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, a move that would be welcomed by many people weary of the time changes twice each year.

The proposal passed the chamber through unanimous consent.

Many Americans recently had to advance their clocks by one hour to set them to daylight saving time; the biannual practice of changing the time also involves turning the clocks back by an hour at another point in the year.

But that twice-yearly time tinkering could become a thing of the past if the Sunshine Protection Act clears the House and gets signed by the President, though Americans in areas that follow this schedule would still have to endure the clock switching for awhile longer. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) said implementation would be delayed until November 2023 due to airlines and others requesting time to adjust.

Under the proposal, parts of the U.S. that currently stay on standard time throughout the year would remain on standard time, according to a Rubio press release.

Regarding the plan to enshrine daylight saving time, the Sunshine State lawmaker quipped that "this is an idea who's time has come."

Senator Rubio Speaks Following Unanimous Senate Passage of His Sunshine Protection Actwww.youtube.com

The plan has bipartisan backing, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle supporting it.

"This past weekend, Americans from Washington State to Florida had to lose an hour of sleep for absolutely no reason," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said, according to the New York Times. "This is a burden and a headache we don't need. Any parent who has worked so hard to get a newborn or a toddler on a regular sleeping schedule understands the absolute chaos changing our clocks creates."