The U.S. House has approved legislation that could fix the nation on Daylight Saving Time year-round. The bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act (HR 139), spearheaded by Florida lawmakers, now heads to the Senate where it may face an uphill climb.

But for now, Republicans and Democrats from the Sunshine State cheered the chance to abandon twice-annual time changes.

“Twice a year, Americans are forced to change their clocks,” said U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican and the bill’s lead sponsor. “These changes disrupt their schedule for no good reason. The outdated practice is frustrating for families, workers, schools and small businesses across the country. And let me just tell you, as someone who has been in business for 30 years, this is gigantic, especially for the small businessperson.”

The legislation passed in the lower chamber on a 308-117 vote. The bill has been a priority of Buchanan, the Republican co-Chair of Florida’s congressional delegation, especially as he wraps a final term in Congress.

The bill follows through in a sense on legislation carried by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, as a state Senator. The Florida Legislature passed a bill in 2018 to go on permanent Daylight Savings Time, but needed a signoff from Congress to do so.

“For me, this vote has been nearly a decade in the making. In 2018, at the Braden River barber shop, shortly after we turned back the clocks to standard time, everyone was complaining about the change,” Steube said.

“Kids are not waking up on time. Everyone is tired. The rise of health-related issues, not able to enjoy activities in the evening. The list went on and on. So the question was, why are we still changing the clocks? And as a state Senator in Florida at the time, everyone looked at me and asked if we could do something about it, so we did.”

Of note, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat who also served in the Florida Senate, also filed a state bill in 2013.

“I filed that bill without a press release back in 2013. It became statewide news for four years straight,” Soto said. “Every time this bill came up, it was the most viewed bill in the Florida Senate for four years straight. Now I will say I never got a chance to pass that bill out of the Florida Legislature, although I know some of my colleagues who are here today ended up doing it after I was gone. One of the burdens of being a Democrat in a Republican-dominated Legislature.”

But Soto said he was happy to work with Republicans across the aisle in Congress to pass the federal bill.

At this point, Florida is one of 19 states to pass similar legislation. The bill as written also allows states to continue changing the clocks if they choose.

“It’s not a Florida conspiracy,” said U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Palm Harbor Republican. “We want to give people an opportunity to go out in the sunshine an extra hour a day.

The bill did have dissenters. U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat, spoke against the legislation. She noted the nation in 1974 tried permanent Daylight Saving Time and it proved grossly unpopular in practice.

“This bill, sadly, is being rushed to the floor as a political bargaining chip without thorough consideration of the impacts, and we have been here before,” she said. “Permanent time is a national decision with implications for every aspect of our health and economy. It deserves a robust, thoughtful debate.”

Many in the House said the prospect of passing a priority of Florida leaders contributed to U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Pinellas Republican, ending her use of a floor technique to block bills being heard on the floor.

Not all Florida lawmakers ultimately signed onto the measure. Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel, Maxwell Frost and Debbie Wasserman Schultz all cast no votes. POLITICO reports Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic co-Chair of Florida’s delegation, had raised concerns within the Democratic caucus about child safety.

But a majority of lawmakers from both parties in Congress ultimately voted in favor of the bill, with 114 Democrats joining 193 Republicans to pass it.

U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, a Gainesville Republican, noted the legislation’s broad support and said there’s a reason the legislation boasts bipartisan support. “No matter where you are, everyone always asks the same question every year because we are all equally annoyed. Why in the heck are we still changing our clocks?” she said.