The U.S. Senate earlier this week passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, a move that echoes an attempt throughout the 1970s, according to the Washingtonian.
Congress in 1973 voted to make daylight saving time permanent for two years, and then-President Richard Nixon signed the bill into law in mid-December.
Daylight saving time had previously been made permanent during World War II in an effort to save fuel, the same reason that drove Congress to make the switch again in the ’70s during the gas crisis. The U.S. saved about 20,000 to 30,000 tons of coal, or 1 percent of energy, by switching to permanent daylight saving time.
Although the idea was popular at the time, with 79% support among Americans the month the bill passed, that number fell to 42% only three months later.
Part of the reason for this was a rise in morning accidents, particularly news of multiple fatal traffic accidents involving children walking to school when it was still dark out. The National Safety Council reported in February 1974 that fatalities before sunrise rose from 18 to 20 over the previous year.
By August, Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., introduced a bill to reverse the decision, which passed in September and was signed by then-President Gerald Ford in October. A House panel noted at the time that energy savings "must be balanced against a majority of the public’s distaste for the observance of daylight saving time."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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