[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 140 (Friday, October 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S12695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI:
  S. 1735. A bill to expand the applicability of daylight saving time; 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


                    THE HALLOWEEN SAFETY ACT OF 1999

  MR. ENZI. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the 
``Halloween Safety Act of 1999.'' This Act has one simple purpose: to 
extend the date on which the daylight saving time ends from the last 
Sunday in October to the first Sunday of November in order to include 
the holiday of Halloween.
  The idea of extending daylight saving time was first introduced to me 
by Sharon Rasmussen, a second grade teacher from Sheridan, Wyoming, and 
her students. I received a packet of twenty letters from Mrs. 
Rasmussen's second grade class expressing their wish to have an extra 
hour of daylight during Halloween in order to make the holiday safer. 
These children explained that they would feel more secure if they had 
an extra hour of daylight when venturing door-to-door in their annual 
trick-or-treating. Halloween is a holiday of great importance to 
youngsters throughout the United States and a large number of children 
do celebrate by trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods and towns. I 
believe this reasonable proposal would make those Halloween activities 
safer.
  Upon conducting some research of my own, I discovered that Halloween 
is a time of increased danger for children. According to the Insurance 
Institute for Highway Safety, fatal pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions 
occur most often between 6 and 9 p.m., comprising twenty-five percent 
of the total. Another twenty-one percent occur between 9 p.m. and 
midnight, making nighttime the most dangerous time for pedestrians.
  Unfortunately, these general accident trends are magnified on 
Halloween given the considerable increase in pedestrians--most of whom 
are children, on Halloween evening. A study by the Division of Injury 
Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the 
Center for Disease Control, concluded that the incidence of pedestrian 
deaths in children ages 5-14 is four times higher on Halloween than any 
other night of the year. In order to make this holiday safer for all 
our children, Congress should take the modest step of providing one 
extra week of daylight saving time.
  Attempts have been made in the past to extend daylight saving time. 
Most recently, Senator Alan Simpson introduced the ``Daylight Saving 
Extension Act of 1994.'' Although Senator Simpson's legislation would 
have changed both the starting date and the ending date of daylight 
saving time, the legislation I am introducing today would simply extend 
it for a week.
  The fact that the students of Mrs. Rasmussen's second grade class 
took the time to write and request that I sponsor a bill to extend 
daylight saving time is important to me. I believe that many of these 
children's parents would also be pleased with this extension of 
daylight savings time. If children are concerned about their own safety 
and come up with a reasonable approach to make their world a little bit 
safer, I believe that accommodating their request is not too much to 
ask. Protecting the children of our country should be a primary concern 
for all of us as lawmakers. If one life could be saved by extending 
daylight saving time to encompass Halloween, it would be worthwhile. I 
trust that all my colleagues will take the time to consider the 
importance the ``Halloween Safety Act of 1999'' would have for children 
and their parents in their respective states.
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