Carmel businessman draws on personal experience in Fifth District race
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A candidate for Congress told News 8 his experience with addiction ultimately led him to seek public office.
Businessman L.D. Powell is one of nearly a dozen candidates running in the Republican primary for Indiana’s Fifth Congressional District. That seat is currently held by Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, who announced she is running for another term less than a week before the filing deadline.
Powell said he became addicted to opioid painkillers following an operation about 20 years ago. In an interview with News 8 for All INdiana Politics, he said his time in rehab and his subsequent work helping those in recovery showed him the extent of America’s addiction problem. He said the country won’t be able to turn the corner on the addiction crisis until it stops the flow of fentanyl and other drugs over the southern border.
“We’ll never have enough recovery rooms and never have enough recovery hospitals to clean up the damage that’s being done if we continue to allow our borders to be wide open,” said Powell.
To do that, he said the United States needs to return to the catch-and-return policies that were in place under the Trump Administration. Meanwhile, Powell said the United States should put economic pressure on Mexico and China to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl over the border. He said one way to do that is to rework its trade agreements to make it more expensive for those countries to trade or do business with the United States.
Beyond the drug issue, Powell said he advocates raising tariffs in retaliation for other countries increasing import duties on American goods, as Donald Trump did during his time in office. He said American manufacturers deserve a level playing field.
On his website, Powell said he will support pro-life legislation. When asked if that would mean a national abortion ban, he said that question is best left up to the states. He said the federal government should focus on providing more resources to women who opt against abortion, including more support for adoption services.
All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sundays on WISH-TV.