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Allen Boyd

Former U.S. Representative (January 1997 to January 2011)

(Congress Bio Directory)

Why He Matters

With Democrats holding strong majorities in both the House and the Senate, conservative Democrats such as the Blue Dogs and New Democrats have become an important bloc of swing voters, and Boyd is one of their strongest voices.

A Vietnam veteran and lifelong farmer from a conservative district in North Florida, Boyd has long been an outspoken fiscal conservative. He was number-six on Politico's list of "Ten Dems Obama should watch out for" in early 2009. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and a newly appointed member of its powerful Financial Services subcommittee, Boyd is in an excellent position to vocalize his conservative economic views and force his party to make concessions to its more moderate members.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: State Representative (1989-1996); Farmer (1971- 1989)
Birthday: June 6, 1945
Hometown: Valdosta, Ga.
Alma Mater: Florida State University, B.S. 1969
Spouse: Cissy
Religion: Methodist

Committees: Appropriations, Budget
DC Office: 227 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-5235
District Offices: Tallahassee, 850-561-3979; Panama City, 850-785-0812
Email
Website

Path to Power

Born in southern Georgia, Boyd grew up on a farm in Monticello, Fla., just east of Tallahassee, where he continues to live and run the family farm. He graduated from Florida State University in 1969, and went on to serve in the Army in Vietnam until 1971.

Boyd, a fifth generation farmer, launched his political career in 1989 when he won a special election to the Florida state House. He served there for seven years and became chair of the Florida House Democratic Conservative Caucus, working to build bipartisan coalitions on issues such as education and health care.

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The Issues

Over his 12 years in Congress, Boyd has had a moderate voting record and has often worked to build bipartisan consensus. But just as often he has frustrated members of his party. Boyd supported the use of force in Iraq, though he wanted President George W. Bush to get a United Nations resolution first. In 1999, Boyd voted with Republicans for an amendment that helped kill a major gun control bill. Despite breaking with his party on occasion, Boyd has voted with his Democratic colleagues 94.6 percent of the time in the 111th Congress.

Health-Care Reform

Boyd was among a handful of centrist Democrats who opposed the 2009 House Democratic legislation, but flipped their votes to support the Senate version of the legislation in March 2010, enabling the legislation to be enacted.

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Though "not perfect," Boyd said the successful legislation met four requirements: reducing costs, increasing access, increasing patient choice and not adding to the federal deficit.

Furthermore, Boyd voted for the bill despite the fact that he was slammed during the 2010 campaign for the loss of 700 jobs at a Sallie Mae facility in his 2nd district. Republicans blamed Boyd because in order to save money for the health-care reforms, student loans under the health-care bill are no longer allowed to originate with private lenders like the Sallie Mae plant in Boyd's district.

Though Boyd fought the student-loan provision in committee, he supported the health-care bill when it passed Congress.

The Economy

As a Blue Dog Democrat, Boyd has pursued a centrist position on economic issues. Though he supports government spending in some areas, particularly education, he is concerned about the mounting national debt, which has been exacerbated by large chunks of federal stimulus spending.

Boyd was one of 11 House Democrats who opposed President Obama's stimulus package the first time around, though he supported the final version of the bill. He wanted fewer construction projects in the package and tax cuts for those more likely to spend, rather than save, money. "I don't believe that government alone can reverse this economic cycle quicker. It might soften it, shorten it, blunt it. But what I fear is that we'll make it worse," Boyd said.

In fall 2008, Boyd voted with the majority of Democrats in in favor of the $700 billion financial bailout measure. But in December he broke with his party to vote against a large bailout for the auto industry, saying it would not be good for taxpayers or the economy as a whole."I believe that American capitalism is the greatest economic system in the world, and we have to let the markets work," Boyd said. "The U.S. auto industry has been struggling for quite some time."

Entitlement Programs

Boyd has also broken with his party when it comes to large federal entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. In 2003, Boyd, along with 15 other House Democrats, voted for a major Republican Medicare and prescription drug bill, aggravating then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

He similarly rankled his party in 2004 when he co-sponsored a bill with then-Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) to partially privatize Social Security by creating personal retirement accounts and lowering benefits. Though Boyd promised to seek other Democratic supporters of the bipartisan measure, he found none in the House.

The Network

Boyd is a prominent member of the Blue Dog Democrats, a fiscally conservative group which sometimes joins forces with centrist New Democrats to push for more moderate economic policy. He is also close with other members of the Florida congressional delegation including Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), whom Boyd once considered succeeding in the Senate after Martinez announced he will not seek reelection in 2010.

Though John McCain carried Boyd's district with 54 percent of the vote in 2008, Boyd has been carefully courted by the Obama administration. In February 2009, Boyd highlighted his good relationship with Obama, noting that he spoke with the president about his economic views during a flight to a town hall forum in Fort Myers, Fla.

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Additional Resources