About once or twice a year, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, visits with our editorial board to discuss whatever comes up. He did that this morning.
Just a few minutes before he came in, I asked friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter what was on their minds and what I should ask him about. It was all very last minute because I only thought of doing that then. My bad. I’ll think of it earlier next time.
Still, I got plenty of responses. The congressman, who is a Facebook friend, answered a few – I only had time to ask a few – and knows that I’m going to send him the others. I asked them as they came in, for the most part.
But since he’s also on Facebook, Boyd will probably see the other questions when he gets back to the office.
A lot of folks asked various questions about the newly passed House energy bill (technically the American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454), which squeaked by on a 219 to 212 vote, with Boyd among those voting aye, along with eight Republicans who crossed party lines to support it.
We’re not going to get into all the details of the bill in this blog, but clearly this is an issue of great importance to Florida as well as the rest of the country. We’ll be tracking progress with the bill as it works through Congress, especially for the Florida impact. Right now, it’s a bit too early to say for sure.
Meanwhile, here is a pretty good Web site to answer questions about details of the bill.
Here is a summary of some things Boyd said on this bill:
Even though the House passed the bill, with Boyd voting in favor, he’s not sure how he’ll vote when a bill comes back to the House after going through the Senate and conference.
Boyd: “This is the third inning of a nine-inning game. I don’t even know if it will get done this year. There will be plenty of time to allow for the public to review what’s in the bill. Taking a vote in the third inning is a lot different than in the ninth inning.”
OK, first you know I love those baseball references. His basic message is it is still early, lots can still change. But he is absolutely committed, he said, to coming away with an energy policy that is coherent.
Boyd: “I believe we need an energy policy, but I know we’re not going to write a bill that’s perfect the first time. (By the time the process is through), there might be things in there that I don’t like and end up voting against.”
Some people asked about pressures he faced to vote in favor of the bill.
Boyd: “Pressure was coming from every direction, for and against it, from constituents for and against. Sometimes the volume of calls one way or another has to do with which side is doing a better job (lining up callers). But I’ve never seen the phones light up the way they did the last three or four days (before the vote).”
Boyd said he got a lot of pressure from other members of Congress, lobbyists and “others inside the Beltway."
Boyd: “I got to hear from everybody. They were all engaged.”
The bill was a monstrous document, with a final version completed at 3 a.m. and including hundreds of pages of details. Some have questioned how well-informed members could have been when they voted, especially since they did not have the final written document when they voted.
Boyd: “The bill was developed over a long period of time, and we had been reading and analyzing various pieces – at the staff level over a longer period. I made an informed decision.”
For those who asked about other issues, I’ll get you answers, too, except the one about the Appalachian Trail. He declined to say if he’s ever hiked it.
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