On September 18, Jewelers of America staff, several members and representatives from AGTA travelled to Washington D.C. for the annual fly-in hosted by Jewelers of America's Political Action Committee (JAPAC).

Attendees had a full day of meetings on Capitol Hill with Congressional leaders. As the only trade association that organizes these visits, the fly-in is a monumental step in amplifying jewelers' voices in government affairs.

While in Washington D.C., one of the many topics we pushed for was credit card reform.

The U.S. credit card market is broken, unfair and lacks competition. This lack of competition has caused credit card swipe fees to rise year after year. This lack of competition costs American businesses and consumers an estimated $15 billion per year.

The JA Ask: Support the Credit Card Competition Act, which would make important reforms to the credit card market to allow for more transparency and competition over which networks process credit card transactions.