Daylight Saving Time (DST) could become permanent in the U.S. after the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which now awaits a House vote and a signature from President Biden before it would become law and go into effect in late 2023.

The goal of DST is to enable people to make more use of daylight. Currently, DST begins when clocks move forward one hour on the second Sunday in March at 2:00 A.M. and ends when clocks move backward one hour on the first Sunday in November at 2:00 A.M. So twice a year, Americans adjust.

Businesses, politicians, sleep experts, and regular Americans are now actively discussing who would benefit from sticking to one schedule all year.

One apparent winner would be golfers and golf courses.

"Golfers, of course, really like the longer days so they can get in more holes before the sun goes down," Greg Nathan, chief business officer for the National Golf Foundation, told Yahoo Finance. "And with the extra evening light, course operators can accommodate more golfers/greens fee revenue."

Farmers, another group often linked to the DST debate, would probably be fine either way.

"Farmers and ranchers will make use of the sunlight no matter the time,” the National Farmers Union told Yahoo Finance in a statement. “There are certain types of farming that are dependent on a daily schedule, like dairy farming, that, depending on the farm, require some routine changes twice a year.”

And who would lose from making DST permanent? Everyone else, according to sleep experts.

“We’re disappointed, especially given the overwhelming scientific and health feeling that this is a bad idea,” Dr. Karin Johnson, a member of the board of directors of Save Standard Time and an associate professor of neurology at UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate, told the New York Times.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “current evidence best supports the adoption of year-round standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits for public health and safety.” (DST shifts daylight hours later in the evening while and Standard Time shifts daylight hours earlier in the morning.)

'We don't have to do this stupidity anymore'

The unanimous passage of the Sunshine Protection Act suggested bipartisan momentum for making DST permanent.

"I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it's one of those issues where there's a lot of agreement," stated Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a co-sponsor of the Sunshine Protection Act. "If we can get this passed, we don't have to do this stupidity anymore."

But while Rubio is right that Americans mostly prefer to end the need to adjust their clocks twice annually, there is no widespread agreement about whether DST should be made permanent or eliminated entirely.

A 2019 AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that "4 in 10 Americans would like to see their clocks stay on standard time year-round, while about 3 in 10 prefer to stay on daylight saving time." (A recent Yahoo Finance Twitter poll found that 72% of 989 respondents supported permanent DST.)

Many Americans don't realize that making DST permanent has been tried before, in 1973. That national experiment indicated that while most Americans liked the idea of permanent DST, they did not like the reality.

"In 1973, anywhere from 57-73% of people supported staying on DST during the winter," sleep expert Olivia Walch wrote in November. "So they did it, in January of 1974. By the time February and March rolled around, only 19-30% of people still thought it was a good idea, while 43% said it was actively bad.

What changed? People experienced what happens to your body when you have to kick off your day in the dark of night. They drove to work and caught the bus to school, while the sun waited to rise until 8:00 am. They didn’t like it, and rolled the decision back before the next winter came around."

Given the stakes, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine urged the House to consider making Standard Time permanent instead.

"We call on the House to take more time to assess the potential ramifications of establishing permanent daylight saving time before making such an important decision that will affect all Americans."

Adriana Belmonte is a reporter and editor covering politics and health care policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on Twitter @adrianambells and reach her at adriana@yahoofinance.com.

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