By Staff
WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy Conference Committee that is finalizing sweeping energy legislation Thursday adopted Congressman Fred Upton's (R-St. Joseph) amendment to extend Daylight Saving Time by four weeks. Upton first introduced his amendment to lengthen DST by two months in April. The four week extension was a compromise reached by Upton and members from the United States Senate during today's conference meeting. Upton expects the Energy package to be finalized early next week and will be considered by the House and Senate prior to the August recess. Upon House and Senate approval, the President is expected to sign the sweeping energy bill into law shortly thereafter.
"Today, we shed some additional light on the need for conservation with our daylight saving extension," said Upton, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "Not only will Americans have more daylight at their disposal for an additional four weeks of the year, we will also be keeping our energy consumption as a nation down. Kids across the nation will soon rejoice with the extended daylight on Halloween night that will allow for an additional hour of trick or treating. Studies by a leading auto safety group have also shown that extending daylight saving will save dozens of lives on the roads each year."
Upton's bipartisan amendment, co-sponsored by Ed Markey (D-MA) would extend daylight saving by four weeks, starting the second Sunday of March and lasting through the first Sunday of November. The extension of daylight saving would become effective one year after the enactment of the Energy bill, likely March of 2007. The bill also calls for a study on the impact of daylight saving on energy consumption to be conducted no later than nine months after the enactment of the bill.
"Extending daylight saving time makes sense, especially with skyrocketing energy costs. My daylight saving amendment is one small piece of the overall energy package, and with oil at $60 a barrel and gas at $2.50 a gallon, every bit of conservation helps," concluded Upton.
Extending daylight in the 1970s saved the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil a day, or one percent of the nation's energy consumption. Taking the savings figure from the mid 1970s - 100,000 barrels of oil a day - and multiplying that by $60 a barrel for 30 days, the savings amounts to at least $180 million for the extended weeks.
The Upton-Markey amendment is supported by studies which show that early daylight saving time and longer days decrease the number of fatal traffic accidents, reduce crime rates, and provide relief for individuals suffering from "night blindness."
A broad coalition of groups including organizations like the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores and the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation Fighting Blindness, and an array of small businesses which support American pastimes, from barbecues to baseball to boating support the legislation to extend daylight saving.