Hundreds gathered outside of Gulf Coast Community College to show their disapproval of Congressman Allen Boyd's vote last week on the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Protesters voiced their opinions. P.T. Moore says, "This is just going to bust America. This is bad, it's just bad politics." Tho Bishop says, "I'm here because I'm angry at Allen Boyd and Congress in general. They're just letting us down." Irene Bowden says, "He's no more a Blue Dog Democrat than I'm an astronaut!"

The current energy bill will curb pollution through a "cap-and-trade" process. It would reduce the amount of harmful gases released into the atmosphere by 17% by 2020, and 83% by 2050. Tuesday's conference at Gulf Coast Community College was billed as a chance to encourage small business development in north Florida. Congressman Boyd spoke to the crowd, touching on the current recession, and saying high energy prices were a major contributing factor.

Rep. Allen Boyd, (D)-North Florida, says, "Last year, this country, as a nation, we sent $400,000,000,000 of our hard-earned American dollars, $400,000,000,000 overseas to buy crude oil from people who produce it overseas."

Opponents say the bill is a step in the wrong direction. But, Boyd says that's not true: "There's no doubt that if we can become energy-independent, if we can produce energy from our own internal sources, then we'll be much better off as a nation."

But not all agree, saying the bill will send jobs to other countries with less strict environmental regulations. Dan Scupin says, "I have nothing against saving energy, but destroying American industry, destroying the coal industry, we're going to be more dependent on foreign oil and we're going to destroy the country."

Senators expect to debate the bill this fall, and it's too early to tell how the legislation could change or what might happen between now and then.

Representative Boyd also met with community leaders at the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. Brigadier General Darryl Roberson said he was confident Tyndall Air Force Base will see an increase in missions. Boyd echoed his statements, saying Air Force officials were impressed by the community support for the base when they visited last week.