Frederick Allen Boyd Jr. (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician and the former United States Representative for from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for a lobbying firm, the Twenty-First Century Group.
Early life, education and career
Boyd was born in Valdosta, Georgia to Margaret Elizabeth Finlayson and Frederick Allen Boyd. He was educated at Florida State University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduating in 1969, Boyd served as an infantry officer in Vietnam with the United States Army.
Florida House of Representatives
Boyd first got elected after he won a special election in the 10th district after his predecessor Gene Hodges resigned on November 22, 1988. He served the district from the January 17, 1989 to November 3, 1992 and the 11th district from November 3, 1992 to November 5, 1996. He retired from the House, to run for Congress. He was succeeded in the State House by Janegale Boyd, his sister-in-law.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Committee on the Budget
Boyd is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
Political positions
Drug War
On Sep 25, 2001, Boyd voted for HR 2586, an amendment to set up a task force on counter-terrorism and drug interdiction and allow military personnel to help patrol U.S. borders. Voted on Jun 10, 2008 for the Mérida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics and Reduce Organized Crime Authorization Act, providing funding for Mexico to spend on drug prohibition related contracts. Opponents at the time complained this would increase the availability of military trained hit men to the drug cartels.
Iraq War
On October 10, 2002, Allen Boyd was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.
2008 financial crisis
On October 3, 2008, Boyd voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. He later voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. On December 11, 2009, Boyd voted for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009
Health care
In November 2009, Boyd voted along with 39 other Democrats against the Affordable Health Care for America Act. On March 19, 2010, Boyd announced his support for the Health Care Reform Bill under consideration in the House and Senate.
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted from an explosion on a drilling platform, killing 11 workers and leaking millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. On May 5, 2010, Boyd introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would raise the liability cap on economic damages in oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion. The legislation would alter the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was passed after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and requires companies to pay for all cleanup costs of spills but only up to $75 million in economic damages. On June 14, Boyd held the Joint Oil Spill-Hurricane Planning conference at Florida State University's, Panama City campus to examine the potential threat of a Gulf of Mexico hurricane colliding with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Federal and state emergency response agencies, representatives from the Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy, and members of the local tourism industry all participated in the day-long event. On June 11, Boyd sent a letter to the President of the United States, asking him to create a Gulf seafood safety task force to counter growing public perception that all seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico is contaminated by oil.
Political campaigns
1996–2008
Boyd entered the 1996 Democratic primary for the 2nd in 1996, after three-term Democratic incumbent Pete Peterson announced his retirement. He led a three-way Democratic primary with 48 percent of the vote, a few thousand votes short of outright victory. He then won the runoff with 64 percent of the vote and easily won the election in November. He was reelected with no major-party opposition in 1998 and defeated an underfunded Republican in 2000.