Between 2010 and 2012, Powell was a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C., where he worked on getting Congress to raise the United States debt ceiling during the United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2011.
Von 2010 bis 2012 war Powell Gastwissenschaftler (visiting scholar) am Bipartisan Policy Center, einem Think Tank in Washington D.C., wo er daran arbeitete, den Kongress dazu zu bewegen, die Schuldenobergrenze der Vereinigten Staaten während der US-Schuldenkrise von 2011 anzuheben.