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Frederick Allen Boyd Jr. (born June 6, 1945) is an American farmer, lobbyist and politician and the former
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
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 Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...
to Margaret Elizabeth Finlayson and Frederick Allen Boyd. He was educated at
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
, where he was a member of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...
fraternity.


Vietnam War

After graduating in 1969, Boyd served as an infantry officer in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
with the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
.


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 The Blue Dog Coalition, commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats, is a Congressional caucus, caucus of Political moderate, moderate members from the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States House of ...
.


Political positions


Drug War

*On September 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. *On June 10, 2008, he voted 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 An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
.


2008 financial crisis

* On October 3, 2008, Boyd voted for the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the "bank bailout of 2008" or the "Wall Street bailout", was a United States federal law enacted during the Great Recession, which created federal programs to "bail out" failing fi ...
. He later voted against the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...
. * 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 The Affordable Health Care for America Act (or HR 3962) was a Bill (proposed law), bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress on October 29, 2009. The bill was sponsored by Representa ...
. * 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 The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...
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 Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane was ...
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. In 2002, however, the Republican-controlled state legislature significantly altered Boyd's district. Part of heavily Democratic
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...
, which has anchored the district since its formation in 1963 (as the 9th District; it was renumbered the 2nd in 1967) was shifted to the
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
-based 3rd District. In its place, heavily Republican
Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
was shifted from the
Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...
-based 1st District to the 2nd. On paper, this made the district considerably friendlier to Republicans;
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
narrowly won the old 2nd in 2000, but
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
would have narrowly won the district under its current boundaries. However, Boyd was handily reelected with 66 percent of the vote in 2002 against another underfunded Republican. In 2004, Boyd faced his first serious test in the form of state representative Bev Kilmer, but Boyd turned back this challenge fairly easily, taking 62 percent of the vote even as
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
carried the district with 54 percent of the vote. Boyd was unopposed for reelection in 2006 and defeated a nominal Republican challenger in 2008.


2010

In 2010, Boyd fended off a spirited challenge in the primary from a more liberal Democrat, State Senator Al Lawson, with whom he'd served in the state house. In the general election, Boyd was defeated by Republican nominee Steve Southerland in the 2010 election, taking only 41 percent of the vote. Independent candidates Paul C. McKain and Dianne Berryhill were also on the ballot; Ray Netherwood qualified as a write-in candidate.


Farming career

Boyd is a fifth-generation farmer from
Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas Jefferson, on which the Jefferson County Courthouse was modeled. ...
and is the majority owner of Boyd Family Farms Inc. Boyd has received almost $1.3 million in federal farm subsidies since 1996, placing him in the top 3 percent of farmers receiving subsidies nationally, and 12th among more than 5,300 farms in his district that received subsidy money over this period.


Personal life

Boyd is married to Jeannie Schmoe and has 3 grown children (2 sons and 1 daughter) from his previous marriage to Cissy Roush. His son John was imprisoned in 2008 for transporting illegal narcotics and illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico.


References


External links

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Allen 1945 births Living people American United Methodists Florida State University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida People from Monticello, Florida People from Valdosta, Georgia United States Army officers Members of Congress who became lobbyists Sigma Alpha Epsilon members 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives