Clocks Will Still Fall Back November 1 as Senate Stalls DST Bill

Daylight saving time will end as scheduled this year, with clocks falling back one hour on November 1, after the Senate failed to advance a bill that would have made daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

Senate Bill to End the Clock Change Remains Stalled

The U.S. House voted 308-117 on July 14 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would eliminate the twice-yearly clock change and make daylight saving time permanent. But the Senate's companion bill, S.29, has not advanced, and as of early August it had not passed the Senate or been signed by the president.

Absent congressional action before November 1, the biannual clock change proceeds under the Uniform Time Act as it currently stands. Clocks in most of the U.S. will fall back one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Hawaii and most of Arizona don't observe daylight saving time and won't change their clocks.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that he intends to block the bill from reaching the floor, and other senators have voiced similar concerns. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said locking in permanent daylight saving time would leave kids in his state heading to school in the dark for much of the winter, adding that it "doesn't work in South Dakota."

Medical Groups Say Congress Is Weighing the Wrong Fix

Five major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, oppose making daylight saving time permanent and instead back locking in permanent standard time. Sleep medicine experts argue that earlier morning sunlight aligns better with the body's natural circadian rhythms than the later winter sunrises permanent daylight saving time would bring.

A Stanford Medicine study published in September 2025 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences similarly found that permanent daylight saving time would leave people worse off for sleep and circadian health compared with permanent standard time.

What's Next

If the Senate does eventually pass legislation before November 1, the timing of any change would depend on the specific language in the final bill. Past versions of the Sunshine Protection Act have included delayed effective dates to give industries like aviation and rail time to adjust their schedules. For now, most Americans should plan to set their clocks back an hour before bed on Saturday, November 1.

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