For the House to adopt a permanent daylight saving time measure, time is running out.

The Senate stunned the country earlier this year by unanimously passing the proposal, and now the House is scrambling to enact legislation that would make daylight saving time a permanent fixture in the United States.

The Sunshine Protection Act, which was passed by the Senate, went unnoticed for a while, but it is once again in the news this weekend as Americans get ready to “fall back” and set their clocks to standard time until March, which will rob winter mornings of an hour of brightness.

Just 17 days of the so-called lame-duck session remain for lawmakers to adopt the legislation and deliver it to President Biden before the current Congress adjourns and both houses are required to restart the clock and revisit the contentious proposal.

However, there is less chance that MPs would succeed in passing the measure in the last few votes.

Rep. Kewisi Mfume (D-Md. ), who is considering endorsing the legislation, told The Hill, “I wouldn’t anticipate it to happen this time.” Depending on whatever party wins the election, a lot of additional things will probably occur, according to my gut feeling.

In March, the Senate shocked the nation when it passed the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent, a fast-track process that permits laws to pass if all members are in agreement and no objections are raised. However, according to Buzzfeed News, several Senators were taken aback when they learned that the legislation had won approval from the special committee.

The bill, which has support from all political parties in both houses, would end the biannual time change and establish daylight saving time as the standard all year long.

On December 21, the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year, the sun will rise in New York at 7:16 a.m. according to current standards. The Sunshine Protection Act, however, ensured that New Yorkers would see the sun rise that day at 8:16 a.m.

The sundown would also be relaxed. The sun will set in the Empire State on December 31 at 4:31 p.m. But under the Sunshine Protection Act, the sun would set at 5:31 p.m.

The majority of Americans support abandoning the annual practice of changing the clocks. In a March survey by Monmouth University, 61% of participants said they wanted to end the practice, while 31% said they wanted to keep it as it is.

However, there are differing opinions on whether standard time or daylight saving time should govern the country. Because of this, the Sunshine Protection Act isn’t moving through in the House entirely.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement to The Hill, “We haven’t been able to establish agreement in the House on this yet.”

There are many different viewpoints on whether to maintain the current schedule, switch to a permanent time, and, if so, what hour that time should be. Instead than by party, these sentiments are broken down by area, he continued.

Compared to 13% who preferred regular time, 44% of survey respondents from Monmouth University stated they would prefer year-round daylight saving time.

“I have heard from constituents and businesses who prefer permanent daylight saving time because they prefer longer daylight hours,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who chairs the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that held a hearing on daylight saving time in February. “I have received calls from constituents who prefer permanent standard time because they have safety concerns for children who have to wait too long in the dark during the winter for the school bus.

It is more challenging to come to a compromise since there are “so many diverse interests,” a congressional staffer working on the matter told The Hill.

According to the aide, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the discussions, some businesses “want to make sure that their customers can enjoy the evening hours in the daylight on a patio,” while others “want to make sure that their customers can get in their morning prayer and then still be able to get to work in reasonable time.”

The assistant said, “Really, it’s all various hobbies.” The quality of life of regular people is discussed in relation to the outcome of the decision.

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, issued a statement to The Hill saying, “The Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over time, is continuing to review and solicit feedback from citizens and stakeholders about making daylight saving time permanent.” “Leader Rodgers expects that the process will continue in a nonpartisan manner.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 19 states have enacted laws or supported resolutions during the last five years that would make daylight saving time the standard all year round. However, since federal law does not require perpetual daylight saving time, such steps cannot be implemented.

Only standard time is observed in Hawaii and Arizona.

The bulk of the nation will no longer observe daylight saving time, after the Mexican Senate decided last month to do away with the twice-yearly clock-changing custom. The bill is anticipated to be signed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Although the long-running lobbying effort has received support on a national and international level and is supported by commercial organizations, including golf organizations, Pallone is reluctant to make the quick shift. He cited the incident when the United States briefly eliminated daylight saving time, which occurred over 50 years ago.

“We don’t want to make a fast change and then have it overturned many years later once public opinion swings against it, which is precisely what occurred in the early 1970s,” the chairman stated.

In an attempt to alleviate the gas scarcity, the previous President Nixon signed a measure in 1974 making daylight saving time permanent for two years. However, the decision was so despised by the populace that nine months later, former President Ford signed legislation that brought back the twice-yearly custom.

After almost five years, and with the measure having passed one house, important MPs are pleading for a second opportunity for the reform.

According to Mfume, “I believe that we need a unified approach, which is why I support the measure to do away with it.”

Ending the practice of changing the clocks is “a commonsense issue,” according to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who sponsored the measure in the Senate.

“States all around the nation are enacting legislation to make DST permanent, but Washington, D.C. has to take action. I don’t know why the House won’t adopt this law; they seem to be in session so seldom. Nevertheless, I’ll keep working to ensure that it happens,” he said in a jab at the opposing house.

The measure is “low-hanging fruit for both parties,” according to Congressman Don Bacon (R-Neb. ), a co-sponsor of the House bill.

I believe it’s a well-liked measure, and I hope [the] Speaker will move it ahead in the lame-duck session, he said.

It is yet unclear what the new status quo will look like. Key actors are also well aware that, regardless of the chamber’s choice, some people will be in for a grumpy wake-up call.

Regardless of our decision on this topic, “half the nation is going to be angry,” the assistant said. We are thus making a serious effort to achieve agreement, but I can assure you that the discussions are still underway as we speak.