Spring forward: How DOGE can save America from yet another Daylight Savings change

President Trump is on a mission. He wants to end government waste and find efficiencies that could save the federal government money. His new Department of Government Efficiency, with Elon Muck at its helm, is framed to cut government bureaucracy. And with Daylight Saving Time set to begin on March 9, DOGE has a big, juicy, low-hanging fruit just waiting to be grabbed. 

Daylight Saving Time has been in existence for more than a century. It controversially began as an energy saving strategy during both world wars and during the energy crisis of the 1970s, when an experiment with year-round Daylight Saving Time was generally not well received. 

Most countries in the world do not use Daylight Saving Time. Countries that center around the equator have no need for it, since their hours of sunlight and darkness are nearly the same year-round. Most countries in Europe observe it, and only one country in South America (Chile) uses it.  

In recent years, several bills have been put forward calling for year-round Daylight Saving Time, putting an end to the time change gymnastics. The most recent such legislation is the Sunshine Protection Act, put forward by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) with bipartisan support. So far, all these bills have failed to reach the finish line to get enacted into law. 

It seems ludicrous to change clocks twice per year, particularly in a society in which time is a fungible commodity. Few people ever manually change their clocks any more — it is all done without our knowledge on our smartphones and other technologies.  

Trump supports doing away with time changes, putting an end to Daylight Time and staying on Standard Time year-round. As it stands now, the country lives on Daylight Saving Time for around eight out of 12 months. This results in a clear preference for year-round Daylight Saving Time, not Standard Time. 

Sleep researchers agree with Trump. They believe that Standard Time is healthier for the population, based on circadian rhythms that dictate natural sleep patterns.

Almost every state follows the annual Daylight-and-Standard Time dance. Arizona and Hawaii stand out as the exceptions, as they stay on Standard Time year-round — something that every state has the option to do. Arizona argues that its summer heat is so oppressive that anything that moves daylight away from normal activity times is to its benefit. Hawaii is located close enough to the equator that changing clocks would have minimal impact. 

How the federal government acts remains to be seen. More than half of the states have passed laws or have pending legislation that will enable them to keep Daylight Saving Time year-round if the federal government passes a law to allow them to do so. In contrast, 10 states have pending legislation to observe Standard Time year-round. The inability to come to any agreement across the entire country is what is gridlocking the move.  

A compromise to split the difference has been discussed, whereby on March 9, clocks would be moved forward by one hour, and then on Nov. 2 this year, they would be turned back by 30 minutes — to be left alone thereafter in perpetuity.

To some, this may sound even more problematic. But is it?  

The adjustment period, over a few years, will take some time. Yet once that period passes, the nation will be acclimated to a 12-month time clock. To ease the legislation through, the law can be passed with a sunset clause of 10 years, which would have to be re-upped or return the nation to the twice-yearly clock changes. My belief is that, after a decade, people will be inclined to leave the new status quo in place. 

Recall the 1975 Metric Conversion Act, when the U.S. tried to move from the imperial system to the metric system. It met a plethora of resistance that led to its demise. In contrast, Canada stuck with their gradual change to metric during the 1970s, allowing them to seamlessly interact with the rest of the world, since what we measure and how we measure it is a bridge for stable global relations.  

Though the majority of people would like to do away with twice-annual time changes, the unclear preference between Daylight Time and Standard Time remains problematic. This means that lawmakers will continue to waffle on the issue, keeping it from being resolved.  

Whether DOGE can find some real financial savings from ending the time change rituals every March and November remains to be seen. Indeed, settling on Daylight Time, Standard Time or a 30-minute compromise will continue to face headwinds, given the resistance to change — even if what we would change to is more favorable than what we would be changing from. If we want to see any progress on the issue, we must take the first step forward and act. 

Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor of computer science in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He applies his expertise in data-driven risk-based decision-making to evaluate and inform public policy.