Daylight Saving Time first went into effect under the Johnson administration, following the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. (Bettmann/Contributor via Getty Images)
Congress formally established Daylight Saving Time with the Uniform Time Act of 1966. It also established time zones in the 1880s to help the railroads coordinate. Before that, time hinged on whatever locals said it was. That led to 144 distinct local times in the U.S. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul even went by different clocks, despite only being separated by the Mississippi River.
So, lawmakers are kind of like "Time Lords" from Doctor Who. But while they have not waged the Last Great Time War, for some lawmakers, time has expired for the biannual time change.
"I haven't had anybody come to me and say, ‘This is something that benefits our society.’ Why do we have it around anymore? Let's get rid of the antiquated stuff that hold us back from advancement," said Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga.
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Florida lawmakers push especially hard to codify the time change in law. After all, Florida is the Sunshine State. Much of the state’s economy is based on what you can do outdoors. Sunbathe. Golf. Walk on the beach. Go to amusement parks.
"In tourism, it's huge," said Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. "Instead of getting dark at 5:39, it gets dark at 6:30. It makes a big difference. A lot of times the weather's nice (people) like to be outside eating."
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., pushed time change legislation when he served as governor of the Sunshine State. He’s authored a bill which he believes will give all states more sunshine – by effectively freezing time.
Congress approved the Standard Time Act, Daylight Saving Time's first iteration, in 1918 under President Wilson. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
What comes next is one of the most fascinating aspects of time legislation, Congress and the presidency. There have only been 112 successful overrides of a presidential veto in American history. One of them is on a piece of time legislation. Congress overrode Wilson’s veto and gave back the hour it picked up during World War I.
Presidents have tinkered with changing the time via executive order to maximize daylight during times of crisis.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt shifted the clocks during World War II. President Richard Nixon did the same during the OPEC oil shocks of the 1970s.
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It was thought that President Trump may wade into the time waters. He’s berated the seasonal time changes for years now, dating back to his first term in office. Mr. Trump posted about the time switch on Truth Social as recently as mid-December.
"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation," wrote the president.
But President Trump wasn’t inclined to turn back time when pressed about it by colleague Peter Doocy on Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries laughed off a question about his stance on daylight savings. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"You have thoughts on daylight savings?" asked colleague Ryan Schmelz of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Jeffries chuckled.
"There’s a lot going on in the United States of America. I haven’t been able to give a thought to daylight savings," replied Jeffries.
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Shakespeare wrote that "let every man be master of his time." But that’s hard to do when Congress decides the time. Of course, the Bard also declared that "what is past is prologue."
And that means that despite the legislative efforts, everyone will probably have to change the clocks again in October when we fall back.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/we-live-time-daylight-savings-time-lords-congress