AIRules Committee sets terms for Daylight Saving Time and three other bills

House Rules and Floor ProcedureHouse Rules · 2026-07-13 · 119th Congress
The House Rules Committee met to set the rule governing floor debate on four bills: H.R. Begins at 0:04:09
Transcript
Highlights

Title

Rules Committee sets terms for Daylight Saving Time and three other bills

Purpose

The House Rules Committee met to set the rule governing floor debate on four bills: H.R. 139 (Sunshine Protection Act, making Daylight Saving Time permanent), H.R. 8595 (State Department appropriations), H.R. 9237 (Take Care of America's Veterans Act), and H.R. 1181 (Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act). Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone testified specifically on the daylight-saving bill, while Democratic members used the meeting to raise objections to the veterans bill's offsets, a Cuba-related provision in the State Department bill, and the broader legislative agenda. Begins at0:04:09

Who spoke

Chair (Speaker 2, presiding)0:04:09: Opened the meeting, explained H.R. 139 would make Daylight Saving Time the permanent year-round standard with exemptions for Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands0:04:58, and later presided over votes on the rule and amendments1:07:34.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member0:05:53: Criticized the week's agenda as "reruns," including a State Department bill he said "guts diplomacy and humanitarian aid"0:07:16 and a veterans package he said cuts benefits to pay for other benefits0:07:16; said the Veterans Affairs Committee chairman had accused the VFW of inciting violence and urged pulling its accreditation0:07:54; moved to strike the veterans bill from the rule, citing $150 billion in unspent DOD funds and cuts to tinnitus/sleep apnea benefits0:40:31.

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Energy and Commerce Chairman0:11:49: Testified that permanent Daylight Saving Time would benefit sleep schedules, energy conservation, motor vehicle safety and the economy0:12:39, noting 19 states have already enacted DST laws pending congressional approval0:12:39; confirmed states could still adopt permanent standard time if enacted before the bill takes effect0:25:07.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member0:13:33: Cited a 2025 poll showing only 12% of Americans prefer switching clocks twice a year0:14:26; said studies show increased heart attacks and strokes in the two days after clock changes0:14:49 and argued permanent DST would boost tourism in shore communities like his own0:14:49.

Rep. Mary Scanlon (D-PA)0:17:57: Cited a Gallup poll finding 7 in 10 Americans want to end the clock-change practice0:17:57 but argued the bill picks the wrong option, noting a 1974 permanent-DST experiment was repealed within a year after fatal school-bus-hour crashes0:19:54; introduced H.R. 9638, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, and moved to substitute it for H.R. 1390:22:180:44:32.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)0:23:40: Established for the record that H.R. 139 passed Energy and Commerce attached to a highway bill without objection0:23:40 and that Arizona-type standard-time states are grandfathered0:24:12; moved the rule granting closed/structured consideration of all four bills0:31:50.

Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY)0:26:07: Said he has concerns about late sunrises in Buffalo under permanent DST but remains undecided on the bill0:26:07.

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN)0:26:33: Said over 90% of a constituent survey wanted to stop changing clocks0:27:02 and asked Guthrie about health/safety downsides of the current switching system0:28:16.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO)0:50:59: Said daylight saving time did not come up at his town hall and quoted GOP Rep. Keith Self calling the week's agenda "fiddling with the clocks while the country burns"0:51:29; noted Rep. Luna's prior criticism of hiding the SAVE Act in a rule0:52:25.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)0:42:03: Had VFW members in the audience raise hands in support of the Richard Star Act0:42:32; moved amendments on H.R. 8595 requiring a State Department report on US policy impacts on Cuba's health system, citing infant mortality rising from 4.2 to 9.90:56:02, and to strike penalties on countries accepting Cuban medical professionals1:01:55, citing $630,000 in stalled newborn-supply shipments1:04:49.

Key moments

McGovern said the Republican Veterans Affairs Committee chairman publicly accused the VFW of inciting violence over a political cartoon and urged the Trump administration to pull its accreditation0:07:54.

Guthrie and Griffith established that H.R. 139 passed Energy and Commerce attached to a highway bill with no amendment offered to strip it and only one objection on unrelated grounds0:23:40.

Scanlon cited a Gallup poll: given a choice, 48% would prefer permanent standard time versus only 24% for permanent daylight saving time once informed of the facts0:21:28.

Scanlon's amendment to substitute the Sunshine for Our Kids Act (H.R. 9638, permanent standard time with state opt-in for DST) for H.R. 139 failed 46-4 on a party-line recorded vote0:53:43.

McGovern's motion to strike the veterans bill (H.R. 9237) from the rule, citing $150 billion in unspent DOD funds versus veteran benefit cuts, failed 46-40:43:30.

Leger Fernandez's amendment requiring a State Department report on Cuba health-policy impacts, citing infant mortality more than doubling (4.2 to 9.9) and $630,000 in stalled newborn medical shipments, failed 46-41:01:25.

Leger Fernandez's amendment to strike penalties on countries accepting Cuban medical professionals, offered on behalf of Rep. Clyburn, also failed 46-41:07:34.

The overall rule, covering all four bills including a provision to merge S. 1383 (the SAVE Act) into H.R. 8595's engrossment, passed the committee 6-41:08:34.

Metadata

Official titleH.R. 139 – Sunshine Protection Act of 2025; H.R. 8595 – National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027; H.R. 9237 – Take Care of America’s Veterans Act; H.R. 1181 – Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
CommitteeHouse Rules
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2026-07-13
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript146 caption blocks · 10,655 words · 1:08:50 runtime
EventCongress.gov 118854