Daylight Saving Time: How a permanent clock schedule would impact Philadelphia area

Lawmakers in the Senate overwhelmingly agreed that the time has come to end the practice of setting clocks back an hour each fall.

Senators unanimously passed the bipartisan "Sunshine Protection Act" Tuesday. The bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.

The ritual of falling back in the U.S. started in 1918 during World War I as a way to conserve fuel. Lawmakers are citing the benefits of having more daylight. But health experts warn about the downsides of losing even an hour of sleep every year.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports a year-round fixed national clock.

(Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

FOX 29's Drew Anderson says that if the Sunshine Protection Act were passed, this would be part of the new schedule in the Philadelphia-area and Delaware Valley: 

Earliest Summer Sunrise: 5:31 a.m. 

Latest Summer Sunset: 8:33 p.m.

Latest Winter Sunrise: 8:22 a.m.

Earliest Winter Sunset: 5:35 p.m.

The U.S. has tried to ditch switching time before. In fact, at least 18 states have already passed laws or resolutions to permanently switch to Daylight Saving Time. But, they can't adopt the changes until federal law changes.

The bill would allow Hawaii and Arizona, which do not observe daylight saving time, to remain on standard time.

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