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One week ago, the Senate – on a voice vote – approved making Daylight Saving Time permanent in 2023. And for the Senate – especially THIS Senate – to approve something on a voice vote had me thinking that after all these years of circadian chaos, the day was finally coming when we could set it and forget it.

But now, it appears the Senate was just kicking it down to the House for the real debate, because when reporters started asking around the House, they discovered that the usual objections are still there. Do we want more daylight in the morning or the afternoon? Does the Pacific Northwest really want to wait until 9 a.m. for sunrise in the winter?

Rep. Al Green of Texas is saying he needs additional evidence before taking a position. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of N.Y., head of the House Democratic caucus, was also reluctant to take a stand — so you see where this is going.

Even Washington’s 7th district Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who has supported sticking to Daylight Saving Time, was saying she’d gotten mixed reactions from constituents.

But the problem with some of these objections – like waking up in the dark – is that we live above the 47th parallel. And in the dead of winter, we get only eight hours of daylight. That leaves a LOT of darkness looking for a spot on the clock.

If you are one of those who can’t stand a late sunrise – I should also point out that here in the Great Pacific Northwest, we can go for weeks without a noticeable sunrise of ANY kind.

And let’s remember: The sun rises at very different times even in the same time zone.

This morning, for example, the sun came up at 7:15 in Ocean Shores, but in Spokane, it came up about a half hour earlier, at 6:48. That’s been happening since before clocks were invented.

People get used to it. What they CAN’T get used to is twice a year suddenly having to shift their biorhythms by an hour.

But apparently the House needs further research on this, and with an election coming up, it means no one wants to take a vote on anything even remotely controversial.

And I can see this whole thing falling apart yet again.

So how about this – neighborhood streetlights. Those LED streetlights are super bright and cheap – and each neighborhood could vote on when they should come on in the morning. You get a guaranteed artificial sunrise, rain or shine, everybody’s happy, we don’t have to mess with the clocks – problem solved.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.