Bill Would Extend Daylight-Savings

WASHINGTON – Daylight-saving time would start three weeks earlier and run through Halloween under a change included in an energy bill approved Thursday by the House.

The energy legislation was expected to be passed by the Senate, probably Friday, and sent to President Bush (search).

The time change is supposed to save energy because people have more daylight in the evening and do not have to turn on lights.

The House had approved a two-month extension — one in the spring and the other in the fall. But that was scaled back after airline officials complained that the extension would cause problems with intentional flight schedules.

Farmers said the change would adversely affect livestock.

Some senators also questioned how much actual energy savings would be achieved.

"We ought to take a hard look at this before we jump into it," said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.

The bill calls for a study into energy savings from daylight-saving time.

Reps. Edward Markey (search), D-Mass., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., agreed to scale back their original proposal.

The revised plan would begin daylight-saving time three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March and extend it by one week to the first Sunday in November. The extension would begin in March 2007.

Upton noted that the extension means daylight-saving time will continue through Halloween, adding to safety.

"Kids across the nation will soon rejoice," he said, as they get another hour of daylight trick-or-treating.

"The beauty of daylight-saving time is that it just makes everyone feel sunnier," Markey said.