Indiana's 9th Congressional District voters have four choices in the Nov. 3 general election.

Republican incumbent Erin Houchin is seeking another term against Democrat Brad Meyer, Libertarian Tonya Hudson and independent write-in candidate Floyd Taylor.

The district covers much of southern Indiana, stretching from Bloomington south to the Ohio River.

WFIU/WTIU News reporter Clayton Baumgarth spoke with each candidate about affordability, health care, immigration, energy, agriculture and other issues facing the district.

See the interview with Erin Houchin here.

See the interview with Tonya Hudson here.

See the interview with Floyd Taylor here.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Clayton Baumgarth: Why are you running for Congress, and what do you think the 9th District needs from its representative that it isn't getting right now?

Brad Meyer: I'm running because while they're keeping us divided, we're all losing. This election is really about the direction of this country, and it needs to be forward instead of looking backward, and it needs to be together.

Baumgarth: What's the biggest affordability problem facing people in southern Indiana, and what specifically can Congress do about it?

Meyer: There are a lot of affordability issues. If you're going to boil it down to one thing, it's actually on the other side of the ledger. It's how much we can earn.

If earnings had kept up with productivity over the last 30 years, there would be an extra $30,000 on average in wages for the average family. It's not just that prices are rising, but also that wages are not keeping up.

We can provide incentives through tax, business and labor policies to help wages rise more than they have. One of the things in that is union membership. There's this attitude that says you only earn what you're worth, and that's actually not true. You only earn what you're able to negotiate.

With weak labor laws and weak unionization rights, you can't negotiate a fair wage, and that's why wages have been kept lower than productivity has been rising.

Baumgarth: What should the federal government's role be in health care, particularly in rural communities where hospitals, EMS and other services are struggling?

Meyer: I'm advocating for universal health care, Medicare for All. Everybody should have health care. It should be a right.

It's been demonstrated that our current system costs twice as much, and we die in southern Indiana about seven years earlier than Canadians. It's this strange deal that we're paying twice as much and we're dying earlier. It's just a bad deal. It doesn't work.

Baumgarth: What should Congress do about immigration and border security, and where do you think the current system is failing?

Meyer: The current system has been failing for 40 years. There are recent things this administration is doing, but if you take a step back, it's been failing for the last 40 years.

We have an economic issue. Since 1990, the labor participation rate in the United States has been going down because the baby boomers are aging. We have fewer workers than what our economy needs.

If we start looking at this as an economic problem — saying, how many workers do we need? — and if that number is X, then we need to issue X number of visas so they can legally come in. Then we need to clamp down on illegal hiring, which is the economic engine that causes all of this.

That gets us out of this debate where Democrats tend to talk about it from a perspective of humanity and Republicans tend to talk about it from a perspective of legality. It really is an economic issue.

We need to address this legally, and then we need to treat the people who come in with respect and dignity as part of our community.

Baumgarth: What should U.S. energy policy look like? How do you balance affordability and reliability with growing demand and environmental concerns?

Meyer: If you set aside data centers — which now, when you talk about energy, everybody wants to jump to data centers — we already have an energy production limit. We don't have the capacity that we should. We don't have the distribution that we should.

The federal government needs to incentivize and fund support for that.

At this point, we've reached the crossover where renewables cost less than coal. The current administration is providing incentives to continue coal plants instead of spurring growth in renewables, and it doesn't make any economic sense. It's going to be more expensive for people to continue to use coal than it is to use renewables.

Baumgarth: What are your thoughts on the development of data centers, particularly in Indiana and the 9th District?

Meyer: I'm not for or against data centers. This is a local community issue. If a local community wants a data center, then great. If they don't want it, they should have the ability to say no.

The problem is that right now, local regulations have not caught up, and there hasn't been any guidance from the state of Indiana. They've encouraged data centers to come into Indiana, but they haven't given any guidance or help to local communities to update their regulations so they have a say.

Because of that, I've called for a one-year moratorium so local communities can get their regulations updated and make a decision, yes or no.

What should be 100 percent illegal are the nondisclosure agreements between companies and local government officials. That is a violation of the basic trust and responsibility of a leader.

Baumgarth: Tariffs have become a major issue for Indiana manufacturers and farmers. When do you believe tariffs are appropriate, and what would you change about current trade policy?

Meyer: Tariffs are a form of tax, and they're actually a form of tax on the American people. The American people, in the long run, indirectly pay for tariffs.

The question is what is an appropriate level of tariff, and that is a question Congress is supposed to answer. If 20 percent is the right answer and that economically works out, then okay, 20 percent. If 4 percent is economically the right answer, okay, fine.

What is inappropriate and irresponsible is making a knee-jerk response and doing things without signaling to the economy. If we're at 4 percent and 20 percent is the right answer, then you communicate and say over a period of time we're going to ramp up to 20 percent. Then buyers can make decisions. They can adjust pricing. They can respond in a normal and reasonable way.

Doing this in a knee-jerk way causes harm to the economy. Doing it without congressional input is unconstitutional and doesn't work.

We're engaged in trade wars around the world. This "America First" attitude is going to end up being "America Alone." We're going to find out that we are 4 percent of the world's population, and we were 33 percent of the world's wealth because of our trade alliances.

When we break those alliances, we're going to find out what it's like to be a used-to-be great power. This is going to destroy us economically in the long run, just the way we're handling it.

Baumgarth: The 9th District is largely rural. What should Congress do to support farmers and rural communities?

Meyer: The first thing, right off the cuff, is input costs. Diesel is now over $7, which is just killing farmers. The input costs for fertilizer have gone up 20, 30 percent, sometimes in some cases more.

Then the trade policies have gutted their foreign markets, which were a big deal and a large percentage of their business.

The problem isn't just that these are temporary problems. In particular with foreign relations, these people are moving on. They're finding other sources, and we're going to become the last resort when they desperately need food.

A lot of that business is going away and going to stay gone because of the adversarial approach we've taken to changes in trade policy. It's just dumber than a post.

Baumgarth: What is your position on abortion, and what role, if any, should Congress play in setting abortion policy nationally?

Meyer: I believe we should restore Roe v. Wade.

I know there are people on both sides of good faith who view this differently. There was a lot of back and forth and engagement, and over time through Roe v. Wade, they came up with a line that said in the first trimester, it's a woman's choice, and beyond that there are increasing restrictions and limitations.

I think that was a reasonable compromise and moral balance, and it needs to be primarily an issue between a woman and her doctor.

Baumgarth: What federal gun laws would you support or oppose?

Meyer: Gun legislation is a hot topic, especially here in southern Indiana, and I get that.

Eighty percent of people in southern Indiana agree that if you're on a no-fly list because they're afraid that you're a real threat, you shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. About 80 percent of people agree that if you are a demonstrated danger to yourself or others, your guns should be taken away by the court.

The only place that you can't find 80 percent agreement to those is in Congress, and that's because of the gun lobbies.

Gun owners want responsible gun ownership. I'm in favor of responsible gun ownership, and I think we need to go with what the majority wants in southern Indiana. I will defer to the people of southern Indiana and what kind of legislation is acceptable.

But I'm not going to listen to far-left people, and I'm not going to listen to the far-right NRA.

Baumgarth: What should America's role be in ongoing conflicts overseas, and when should the United States provide military or financial support to other countries?

Meyer: There are a lot of things that go into making that decision.

Number one: Is it in the best interest of the United States to intervene?

Number two: Does it match our morals, ethics and principles?

Those are the two guiding principles off the top.

Baumgarth: Congress has repeatedly struggled with deficits, shutdown threats and passing budgets on time. What would you be willing to compromise on to make Congress function better?

Meyer: The real answer — and this is on my website — is we need a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget. It's been demonstrated that Congress does not have the will to do its job.

One of the main things Congress is supposed to do is have the power of the purse. Oct. 1 is the deadline. That's the beginning of the fiscal year.

If we don't have a balanced budget on Oct. 1, I'm saying nobody in federal elected office will be able to stand for their next election. If you're in the House at the end of that term, you can't run for anything for two years. Senate, you can't run for six years. President in the first term, you can't run for four years.

The only way we're going to force them to be responsible is if we threaten their power, because that seems to be what they're really worried about.

Baumgarth: Are there issues where you disagree with the Democratic Party nationally?

Meyer: I think one of the issues is that I am a Democratic capitalist.

The number one thing, the first thing we need to work on, is putting policies in place that help working families.

There are a lot of issues. There are a lot of important issues that I care about, and I think we need to work on. But if we don't address the economic discontent, we're going to continue to have trouble.

The fact is that economic discontent is the dry tinder this administration is using to burn down our democracy. If we don't remove that fuel, we're going to continue to have these problems.

Baumgarth: If elected, what's one specific piece of legislation or policy you'd try to accomplish during your first year?

Meyer: I am a strong advocate for universal health care, Medicare for All. I'd like to see us be able to get that through in the first year, or at least in the first two years.

With Trump as president, there's a real question of how we would be able to do that.

But we need to increase the minimum wage. We need to increase the cap so more people can get overtime pay. We need to increase the standard deduction. We need to start doing things that help put money in people's pockets.

Baumgarth: What experience or qualifications do you have that make you prepared to represent the district in Congress?

Meyer: I've never been in elected office, which is not a good start to your question. I'm not a politician.

I am an engineer. I spent 25 years in manufacturing leadership roles in industry. I spent the last nine years working for the Navy on systems that protect ships from missile attack.

I understand what it is to analyze data, understand problems, balance different needs and solve problems. We really need to start solving problems.

Baumgarth: Why should someone who normally votes for the other party, or doesn't identify with your political coalition, consider voting for you?

Meyer: This administration and Erin Houchin have kept us pitted against each other, and while we've been looking at each other with suspicion, they've been cutting Medicaid for people who need health care. They have undercut and undermined the ACA so that it now costs 20 percent more.

They have made it harder for people with disabilities, which is about 15 percent of people in southern Indiana. They have done nothing about Social Security, which is a looming crisis. They are putting policies in place that are making it more likely we're going to have hospitals fail.

They are keeping policies that minimize wages. They are stripping labor laws. They are cutting the EPA and labor protections. They have cut funding for cancer.

They have put crazy people in charge of our health care system, and on and on and on. They have started disputes with our allies that are going to have long-term consequences.

These policies that they brag about as "America First" are going to end up with "America Alone," and we are going to suffer in ways we have never seen in our lifetime.

We have to break this. This is not just a policy dispute. This is basic, fundamental democratic institutions, division of power and anti-corruption.

We've got to put a stop to this, and we've got to start focusing on people instead of big businesses.