Mary Gay Scanlon
Representative for Pennsylvania · Democratic · United States
“Parents will be driving to work before sunrise. Morning commuters, students, and pedestrians will be starting their day in the dark, not because of the seasons, but because Congress decided to move the clock instead of following the Sun. We don't have to speculate about what would happen under permanent daylight saving time.”
“We can all understand the appeal of an extra hour of sunlight in the summer, but permanent daylight saving time comes with serious health and safety concerns with even darker winter mornings. If this bill becomes law, winter mornings across the country are going to look very different.”
“Medical and scientific experts have endorsed the move to permanent standard time because permanent daylight saving time disrupts our natural circadian rhythms, the internal clocks that regulate when we sleep and wake.”
“Mr. Speaker, as I think we can all tell from the ensuing debate here, there are serious issues that this body needs to be wrestling with, but the Speaker has chosen to put on the floor this week H.R. 139, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent.”
“A Gallup poll last year found that Americans preferred permanent standard time to permanent daylight saving time by 2-to-1. That is why I have introduced the bipartisan Sunshine for Our Kids Act with Representative Pat Harrigan. Our bill would end the clock changes and make standard time the national default. The SPEAKER pro tempore.”
“Importantly, it would also allow for States to adopt permanent daylight saving time through State law if they choose. If we are going to make a permanent change that affects every American, we should follow the science, learn from history, and prioritize Americans' health, particularly that of our children.”
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“Importantly, it would also allow for States to adopt permanent daylight saving time through State law if they choose. If we are going to make a permanent change that affects every American, we should follow the science, learn from history, and prioritize Americans' health, particularly that of our children. That is why I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and on H.R. 139.”
“A Gallup poll last year found that Americans preferred permanent standard time to permanent daylight saving time by 2-to-1. That is why I have introduced the bipartisan Sunshine for Our Kids Act with Representative Pat Harrigan. Our bill would end the clock changes and make standard time the national default. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.”
“Medical and scientific experts have endorsed the move to permanent standard time because permanent daylight saving time disrupts our natural circadian rhythms, the internal clocks that regulate when we sleep and wake. That disruption has been linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, chronic sleep deprivation, and other adverse health concerns. These bad outcomes are even more serious and long-lasting than the sleep deprivation, traffic accidents, and heart attacks that follow the twice-yearly changes that we currently have. I have also heard directly from my constituents. Like most Americans, they are ready to ditch the switch, but when I ask which permanent system they would prefer if they had to choose, the clear preference was for standard time.”
“Parents will be driving to work before sunrise. Morning commuters, students, and pedestrians will be starting their day in the dark, not because of the seasons, but because Congress decided to move the clock instead of following the Sun. We don't have to speculate about what would happen under permanent daylight saving time. We already tried it. During the 1974 energy crisis, Congress made daylight saving time permanent in a failed attempt to save energy. It lasted less than a year. Families found themselves sending their kids to school in the dark, and there was a rash of fatal crashes involving schoolchildren. Communities raised serious safety concerns, and public support, which initially was quite strong, quickly collapsed. Congress repealed the policy within months. The science has only become clearer since then.”
“We can all understand the appeal of an extra hour of sunlight in the summer, but permanent daylight saving time comes with serious health and safety concerns with even darker winter mornings. If this bill becomes law, winter mornings across the country are going to look very different. Millions of Americans will wake up during the winter months in complete darkness, with the Sun not rising until long after people get up and travel to school or work or have to go about their days. In much of upstate and northern New York, communities will not see the Sun rise until well after 8:30 a.m. In Michigan, it will be close to 9 before the Sun comes up. In parts of the Pacific Northwest, sunrise will be pushed even later than 9 a.m. In many parts of the country, children will be waiting for schoolbuses in darkness.”
“Mr. Speaker, as I think we can all tell from the ensuing debate here, there are serious issues that this body needs to be wrestling with, but the Speaker has chosen to put on the floor this week H.R. 139, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. I think there is one thing everyone in this Chamber can agree on: Americans do not like changing their clocks twice a year. The big question isn't whether we should ditch the switch; it is how. Unfortunately, the bill that the Speaker has chosen chooses the wrong solution by making daylight saving time permanent nationwide while denying States the right to enact permanent standard time if they so choose--not if, but when they discover that Congress made the wrong choice.”
“My question for House Republicans is: What does it take to get them to stand up for Americans? Mr. Speaker, I yield my time but not my outrage. ____________________”
“I met with teachers worried about students who don't have the resources to weather the hardships so casually inflicted by this White House. I heard from Federal employees who lost their jobs but were more concerned about the veterans and seniors and kids with disabilities they could no [[Page H1512]] longer serve. I met with medical researchers whose work fighting cancer and pandemics had been abandoned by this White House. I heard from veterans stunned that they had been fired for no reason and volunteer firefighters who had lost FEMA funding. I heard from a dry cleaner terrified that her family would be deported, even though they have no criminal records and are legally in this country. I also heard from mental health specialists fighting opioid and fentanyl addiction, whose funding was canceled.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 64 (Wednesday, April 9, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 9, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1511-H1512] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] STANDING UP FOR AMERICANS (Ms. SCANLON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I spent the weekend listening to my constituents, and it damn near broke me. I heard from seniors worried about Musk's attacks on Social Security and Medicaid, small businesses confronting bankruptcy from Trump's tariffs, and parents seeing their college and retirement savings wiped out.”