Rep. Steube’s Years-Long Fight to “Lock the Clock” Clears the House

July 15, 2026 | Press Releases Rep. Steube’s Years-Long Fight to “Lock the Clock” Clears the House Congressman Steube providing remarks on the House floor on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. WASHINGTON –The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Sunshine Protection Act , legislation to end the twice-yearly changing of clocks and make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. The bill passed by a vote of 308-117 and now heads to the Senate. “This vote has been years in the making. In 2018, I was in a barbershop in Manatee County right after we changed our clocks, and I heard an entire room of Floridians frustrated about losing daylight in the evening,” said Rep. Greg Steube. “That conversation led me to introduce the Sunshine Protection Act in the Florida State Senate. We passed it that year and Governor Rick Scott signed it into law, but Florida couldn’t implement it until Congress acted. Now, after years of work, Congress finally gave Floridians and Americans across the country the vote we’ve been waiting for. It’s time to lock the clock!” For Rep. Steube, this week’s vote is the culmination of a fight that began eight years ago in the Florida Legislature. As a Florida state senator in 2018, Rep. Steube carried legislation creating Florida’s own Sunshine Protection Act , committing the state to permanent daylight saving time contingent on Congress changing federal law. Since arriving in Washington, Rep. Steube has continued that fight as a cosponsor of the federal Sunshine Protection Act , and in November 2024 filed a discharge petition to force a floor vote after the bill stalled in committee. The Sunshine Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and is led in the Senate by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). The legislation would end the practice of changing clocks twice a year, allowing states to remain on daylight saving time year-round. ###