Name: H.R. 139 – Sunshine Protection Act of 2025; H.R. 8595 – National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027; H.R. 9237 – Take Care of America’s Veterans Act; H.R. 1181 – Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
Uploaded: 2026-07-13T20:00:00+00:00
Duration: 4170 s

03:38 - 06:13

Speaker 1

You guys having a great conversation. Good afternoon. The committee will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recess at any time. Today, the Rules Committee is convening to consider a single measure, H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025.

This legislation establishes daylight savings time as the permanent year-round standard time for the United States and would dispense with the semi-yearly practice of resetting our clocks. Every November, as all of us are well aware, we follow the annual fall back. But under this legislation, Americans would no longer need to turn back their clocks an hour. Further, H.R. 139 provides exemptions for Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as they currently adhere to standard year-round time and therefore remain on permanent standard time. The remaining 48 states under this legislation will be granted the authority to lock their clocks permanently.

There are two important things to note here. First, President Trump has made clear his support for this legislation, and he remains adamant that Congress pass it and send it directly to his desk to end what all of us would agree is a tedious and entirely repetitive process. Second, we should take note of the bipartisan support this legislation has garnered both in the House and the Senate. There's consensus on this issue across the ideological spectrum. I look forward to the testimony of our panel here today.

I'm sure they have some pertinent facts and figures to share with us about why this legislation is a win for the American people and the nation. With that, I now yield to the ranking member, Mr. McGovern, for any comments he wishes to make.

06:13 - 08:56

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Madam Chair. And I didn't know it was reruns week at the Rules Committee. You know, what's next? Are we going to bring I Love Lucy to the House floor or Gilligan's Island? I mean, we're meeting on three bills we already met on.

And the new, and the one new piece of legislation we're considering is a bill about daylight savings time. I mean, really? Not affordability, but daylight savings time. And people have strong views on, on that bill, so I look forward to the debate. And I'm not saying it's not important, but, but gee, maybe, maybe we should focus on some of the more obvious challenges facing Americans, like grocery costs or rent prices or affordability.

But that's just my opinion. But instead, we're doing three reruns this week. We already considered them all. We're doing them again today. Why?

Because Mike Johnson can't get his act together and this majority can't keep the floor open. We have a State Department bill that guts diplomacy and humanitarian aid, a bill that makes it harder to flag suspicious gun purchases, and a veterans package that pays for benefits today by cutting benefits tomorrow.

And one thing I'll add is that since we last considered the veterans bill, the Republican chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee has publicly attacked the Veterans of Foreign Wars, aka the VFW, one of the oldest and most influential veterans associations in America, which opposes the Republican veterans bill on behalf of their more than one million veteran members. And I want to express my appreciation for them being present today in the Rules Committee. But the Republican chair of the Veterans Committee is accusing the VFW, listen, of all things, of inciting violence over a political cartoon, and sent a letter urging the Trump administration to pull the VFW's accreditation as a veteran service organization, jeopardizing VFW's ability to help veterans get the benefits that they earned. Let that sink in for a minute. And now, MAGA is trying to weaponize the VA against the VFW as retaliation.

That is one of the most offensive things I have seen in a while. And I just want to say publicly that I find it deeply, deeply, deeply troubling. The VFW is not some fringe activist group. It's the voice of American veterans who served this country with honor and distinction. But the chairman's absurd comments fit a pattern with this majority and this administration of trying to use government to punish anyone who disagrees.