Daylight Plan Not Greeted as Sunny News

It seemed like a simple idea: extend daylight saving time to conserve energy.

But the proposal, which House members want in the energy bill that Congress hopes to pass, has run into opposition -- from the airline industry, school and religious groups, and even the Department of Energy.

Supporters of extending daylight saving time -- which begins in April and ends in October -- by two months say the additional daylight in the evening would reduce electricity demand.

But the airline industry objects to the idea. It says that putting the United States “out of sync with most of the world’s clocks” would wreak havoc on its schedules. School groups say it would force more children to wait for morning buses or walk to school in the dark.

An Orthodox Jewish group complains that the idea presents “serious consequences” for religious practice.

Even some farmers have complained.

“Cows don’t pay attention to clocks,” said Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy Committee.

“I didn’t realize what a controversial topic daylight savings is until I started researching how many people it impacts,” said Amy Sechler, director of legislative affairs for the National Assn. of Independent Schools. Her group is among those expressing concern about the change.

The dispute underscores how the myriad issues covered by the bill to overhaul the nation’s energy policy ensure a variety of complications, potentially jeopardizing passage of the measure. Still, President Bush and lawmakers from both parties are eager to pass an energy bill to show their concern about high energy prices.

Some extension of daylight saving time is likely to be part of the bill, which includes a raft of provisions aimed at spurring energy conservation and production.

The measure before a House-Senate panel negotiating the bill calls for beginning daylight saving time a month earlier -- the first Sunday in March -- and ending it a month later -- the last Sunday in November. But the provision’s chief sponsors could tinker with the dates in order to address the criticisms.

The issue has been debated for years. Year-round daylight saving time, tried during the 1970s Arab oil embargo, generated widespread complaints about schoolchildren waiting for buses on dark winter mornings.

The idea of extending daylight saving time was considered again during the 2000-01 California electricity crisis, but no bill made it through Congress.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who is sponsoring the push for an extension with Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), said this year: “In addition to the benefits of energy savings -- less crime, fewer traffic fatalities, more recreation time and increased economic activity -- daylight savings just brings a smile to everybody’s faces.”

The Air Transport Assn. isn’t smiling.

“This seemingly simple change will have a ripple effect throughout the domestic airline system that will frustrate and inconvenience travelers, while hurting U.S. airlines,” the airline industry trade group said in a statement.

Expressing similar concerns, a spokesman for the Department of Energy said the change would leave the United States “out of sync with daylight saving time observances in other parts of the world. It would force U.S. air carriers to juggle international flight schedules and domestic flight connections.”

Agudath Israel of America, a nationwide Orthodox Jewish organization, called the change a “prescription for trouble” in a letter to lawmakers.

Rabbi Abba Cohen said his group was concerned about how the change could affect morning prayer, which in Judaism is regulated by sunrise.

“If you have a sunrise, as will be the case in some cities, as late as 8:45 in the morning, and if you want to go to the synagogue and complete prayers, it’s going to be almost impossible to arrive at the workplace at 9 o’clock,” he said. “For observant Jews, jobs could be put in jeopardy.”

Cohen noted that his group supported efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, including Bush’s controversial push to open part of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. But he questioned how much effect extending daylight saving time would have, noting that the year-round extension in the 1970s was repealed after it was found to have saved only about 1% in energy consumption.

“If the energy savings were more compelling, that might cause people to rethink the issue,” he said. “Although when it comes to safety issues, I think they really have to take precedence over other kinds of concerns. Energy savings are critical, but at what other costs to society?”

Several business groups support the proposal for economic reasons.

The American Nursery and Landscape Assn. recently issued a statement saying the extension would generate “valuable retail sales during evenings at the critical beginning of the spring selling season.”

Markey sponsored a bill passed in 1986 that extended daylight saving time by three weeks. He said Wednesday: “Everyone adjusted to it. The same thing will happen this time.”