Introduction
It's like déjà vu all over again, dear reader, with an apology to "John Fogerty—Déjà vu (All Over Again)," YouTube, by John Fogerty, 11/4/2025. Welcome, unfortunately once again, to another entry, the 75th, in the Poly-Ticks Topic Section. Please remember that “poly-ticks” is from the Greek “poly,” meaning “many,” plus “ticks,” blood suckers.
The US House of Representatives started it this latest time. Will history repeat itself? We will see.
The “Sunshine Protection Act of 2025”
On Tuesday evening, I first heard the truly “breaking news” story on a local news television station. Bouncing around several 24-7, 365 news channels, I learned “the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey would say.
The next morning, I found the information online. The US House of Representatives passed a nonpartisan bill to allow so-called daylight saving time to continue year-round.
From Congress.gov: House Bill: H.R.139 - Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, 119th Congress (2025-2026), I learned that the bill was introduced in the House on 1/3/2025. The House passed it on Tuesday, 7/14/2026, at 5:18 PM. The bill would make so-called daylight saving time permanent.
Similar information is found at the US House: Clerk: Votes: Roll Call Votes: July 14, 2026, 5:17 PM; 119th Congress, 2nd Session; Roll Call Number: 238; Bill Number: H. R. 139; Bill Title & Description: Sunshine Protection Act. The bill passed with 308 (193 Republicans, 114 Democrats) votes in favor and 117 (22 Republicans, 95 Democrats) votes against, with six members (three Republicans and three Democrats) not voting. All nine representatives from Tennessee (eight Republicans, one Democrat) voted in favor, including our representative, Tim Burchett.
Will History Repeat Itself?
Did you know that making so-called daylight saving time permanent had been tried before? It happened in my teenage years in the 1970s.
The context was the Arab oil embargo in 1973. In December 1973, Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed into law that the so-called daylight saving time would be year-round for about two years. Most of the country went on year-round daylight saving time on January 6, 1974. The switch was flipped.
By October 1974, however, Congress voted to end permanent daylight saving time and go back to standard time during the fall and winter months. President Gerald Ford signed the bill into law. The switch was flipped back.
Back then, public opinion shifted from being in favor of permanent daylight saving time to disliking the notion. What caused the shift? Children were arriving at school in darkness. Day-shift workers were also at work before sunrise.
One source from October 2025 is “America once made daylight saving time permanent. Here’s what went wrong.” National Geographic, by Jordan Friedman, 10/30/2025. The byline reads, “In 1974, the U.S. tried staying on daylight saving time all year. The result was darker mornings and public panic.” The article mentions, with the sun rising at 8:30 AM or later in winter, children walked or rode to school in predawn darkness in 1974. Back then, a few children walking to school were hit or killed by drivers who didn't see them. Near the conclusion, the entry indicated at the time, just over eight months ago, that recent Gallup polling suggested adults preferred keeping the country on standard time year round.
A more recent source is “The US Tried Permanent Daylight Saving in 1974 and People Hated It,” Newsweek, by Alice Gibbs, 7/15/2026. The author states, in 1974, children and commuters traveled to school or work before dawn. She further states, “Reports of schoolchildren carrying flashlights and parents accompanying children to bus stops before sunrise became a recurring feature of news coverage. Several traffic accidents involving children received widespread attention, further intensifying public concern.” The article concludes by stating, “For supporters and opponents alike, the events of 1974 remain the closest real-world example of what permanent daylight saving time could look like in practice.”
Conclusion
“Déjà vu” is a French adjective, which literally means “already seen.” I have been down the same road before in my stance against “guvrmint” time, as Papaw Ferrell (4/13/1880–11/21/1970) called it. Papaw despised so-called daylight saving time. So do I. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
For example, the article from 3/12/2023 was my rant against “guvrmint” time just over two years ago. The entry includes links to my previous articles on the subject from 3/19/2022 and 11/7/2021.
So, here we go again! Will the US Senate pass the bill that the US House passed? The president has already said that he would sign into law a bill making so-called daylight saving time permanent.
Must we relearn the lessons learned in 1974? Our nation's leaders need an education in history. As George Santayana (1863—1952) wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense. Scribner’s, 1905: 284). (Source: https://iep.utm.edu/santayan/.)
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