Day on the Hill schedules were thrown a bit of a curveball when Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations, was called to testify before the House Energy Committee subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce on the benefits of Daylight Saving Time (DST), the morning of March 9, the opening of Day on the Hill.

Because of NACS support in the 1980s for starting DST six weeks earlier in the spring, congressional committee staffers requested a historical perspective of why we move our clocks in the U.S.

Beckwith testified that the concept is really “daylight optimization,” and that commerce in convenience stores and other industries increases dramatically when consumers have more daylight after work and school. He acknowledged that losing an hour of sleep in the spring causes aggravation for some but suggested that it quickly dissipates as people enjoy the evening sunlight.

Beckwith also noted that it is a balancing act. When days grow shorter in the winter, switching clocks allows for optimal utilization of dwindling morning sunlight. While expressing support for the current system, when hypothetically asked which NACS would prefer, permanent Standard Time or permanent DST, Beckwith responded, “permanent Daylight Saving Time.”