Changing Clocks Is Annoying. The Alternatives Are Too.

Last week, like most Americans, the country’s senators stumbled into Monday morning after a jarring weekend transition to daylight saving time, or DST. But unlike most Americans, they could do something about it. On Tuesday, they passed a bill that would make DST permanent—as in, no more clock changes—starting late next year.

In fact, the timing of the bill was deliberate: Switching to permanent DST has gained support in state legislatures in recent years, and the bipartisan group backing the Senate bill wanted to capitalize on Americans’ fresh frustration about the time change. “If we can get this passed, we don’t have to do this stupidity anymore,” Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a sponsor of the bill. Its fate —President Joe Biden hasn’t taken a stance on it, and the issue may be less salient if and when the House addresses it, which could end up being from now.