America’s most hated time ritual may finally be clocking out. Twice a year, Americans collectively stumble through the same bizarre routine: forgetting how microwaves work, showing up early to church, late to brunch, and spending three straight days wondering why they suddenly feel exhausted. Now, Congress is finally inching toward ending the clock-changing madness for good. The Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee just advanced legislation that could eventually make daylight saving time permanent nationwide, pushing the long-running “lock the clock” movement closer to reality than it has been in years. The proposal, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, was folded into a larger transportation package this week and passed out of committee by a massive 48-1 vote. In other words, Washington may have finally found the one issue capable of uniting exhausted Americans. Florida Republicans Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Vern Buchanan have been leading the charge after years of public frustration over changing clocks twice a year. The effort was previously championed by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose version famously passed the Senate in 2022 before dying in the House. Buchanan celebrated the latest momentum this week, calling the twice-a-year clock change “outdated and unpopular.” At this point, changing clocks feels like one of those strange traditions Americans continue mostly because nobody in Washington can quite figure out how to stop it. If the legislation eventually becomes law, most Americans would remain on the brighter summer-style schedule year-round. That means sunsets after 5 p.m. during winter instead of darkness arriving before many people even leave work. Of course, there’s a catch. Sunrises in some parts of the country would drift past 8 a.m. — and in certain areas, even closer to 9 a.m. Critics argue that could create problems for children heading to school in darkness and potentially affect sleep and health. Some Democrats and sleep experts are already pushing back. During Thursday’s markup, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA) warned about possible health concerns tied to permanent daylight saving time. But honestly, Americans increasingly seem willing to accept almost any trade-off if it means never having to manually reset the clock in a car dashboard again. Nineteen states have already passed laws supporting permanent daylight saving time if Congress approves it federally. Maine and Texas joined the list last year. There are still several hurdles before anything changes nationally. The full House would need to pass the package, the Senate would need to agree, and President Donald Trump would ultimately need to sign it. Until then, Americans can look forward to once again pretending they totally remembered the time change when clocks roll back this November.