Thread by @ChadPergram

1) "The politics of time." For all of those dealing with the time change this morning, and wondering who is responsible, look no further than the U.S. Congress.

2) In 1784, Ben Franklin advocated “springing ahead” in spring and “falling back” in autumn in tandem with the sun to conserve candles. But the U.S. never formally implemented the concept until passage of the Standard Time Act in 1918.

3) Sometimes referred to as the Calder Act, the law established the four continental time zones of the United States. Spurred by World War I and efforts to save fuel, Congress initiated “summer” Daylight Saving Time in late March 1918.

4) With no mass media available, a campaign ensued to alert the public to the shift. A war-related poster from the period declares “Victory! Congress passes Daylight Saving Bill.”

5) The poster depicts Uncle Sam adjusting the hands of a clock, a rifle slung over his shoulder and farming implements in hand.

6) “Get your hoe ready!” reads another caption while a cartoon clock face attached to a body dances for joy. Inscribed on the clock are the words “One Hour of Extra Daylight.”

7) Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time Congress passed something and then had to market the law. The time measure proved to be unpopular and Congress prepared another piece of legislation to end Daylight Saving Time. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently vetoed the bill.

8) However, both houses of Congress executed a rare, successful override. Congress has only overridden 112 presidential vetoes in US history. But one of them was to override the veto of the time change bill.

9) By executive order, FDR imposed year-round “War Time,” moving the clocks ahead for an hour. After World War II ended in 1945, most eastern and northern instituted Daylight Saving Time in the warmer months.

10) But that led to confusion with some towns and states instituting their own time schemes. It got so bad that some called for federal regulation. The result was the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

11) Congress mandated that people would advance their clocks by an hour at 2 am on the last Sunday in April. Arizona and Michigan immediately opted out. But Congress updated the law to allow states which were federally split by time zones to choose their own time, such as Indiana

12) International conflict again forced Congress to tinker with time a few years later.

The 1973 OPEC oil embargo forced Congress to implement year-round Daylight Saving Time for two years to decrease fuel consumption.

13) Advocates for the “longer” days argued that time shifting cut down on crime, traffic accidents and provided more daylight for recreation. But the fuel savings proved negligible.

14) Congress updated the law again in 1986. Daylight Saving Time would start on the first Sunday in April and clocks would return to Standard Time on the final Sunday in October. But Congress installed a “sunset” (ahem) on this policy for 2006.

15) Between 2003 and 2005, Congress wrestled with a massive, comprehensive piece of energy legislation Buried in the legislation was provision to extend the period of Daylight Saving Time.

16) Under the law, the new calendar shifted the beginning DST from what had been early April to early March. On the back end, Daylight Saving Time would no longer cease in October but early November.

17) At the time, then Hse Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and late Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) pushed to delay the regress to Standard Time until November. That’s so the time change wouldn't interfere with trick-or-treaters in late Oct & could do so in daylight

18) At the end the day (at whatever hour it may come, depending on the season), legislative time shifting has historically been about saving energy. In colonial times. In war time. During the oil shocks. Even if there is only a finite period of daylight available to work with.

19) Congress is powerful. But it can’t extend or diminish the length of a solar day. A 2010 Utah State study asserted that the nation’s chronometric vacillation actually costs $1.7 billion a year.

20) Some mbrs of the FL Congressional delegation have pushed for Congress to establish one time year round. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) sponsored the "Daylight Act. It would allow states to stay on Daylight Saving Time me. The bill is jammed up in cmte.