Add South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson to the list of lawmakers who want to make daylight saving time permanent.
The soon-to-be 2-term Republican says “Increasingly, Americans enjoy their time after school (and) after work (and) don’t like it when it’s getting dark at 4:30 or 5 p.m.,” since switching back each November seems to put a damper on everyone’s mood.
As a result, Johnson supports the “Sunshine Protection Act” making daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
A similar bill in the South Dakota Legislature failed by a narrow margin less than a year ago with opponents arguing that more daylight in the morning during the winter is a good thing.
Johnson says it makes more to address the issue nationally since Daylight Savings Time is a creation of the federal government and, speaking as a member of Congress “ we got us into this mess, we need to take some ownership on how to get us out.”
The Sunshine Protection Act has received nominal bipartisan support in both the U-S House and Senate. Johnson hopes the bill will reintroduced after the new Congress convenes next month.