U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) will be giving his opening remarks at JA New York Summer Show 15 minutes earlier than previous announced. He will now be speaking at 9 a.m. on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the show. Rangel’s remarks at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center will precede the show opening at 9:30 a.m.

Rangel is the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, considered the most powerful committee in Congress, due to its jurisdiction over tax and trade legislation, including Social Security and Medicare. Ways and Means has considered legislation of interest to the jewelry industry over the years, including luxury tax measures and changes to the Generalized System of Preferences.

In this current session of Congress, Ways and Means is also likely to have jurisdiction over legislation that would permit the individual states to require collection of sales taxes by Internet and other remote retailers. The passage of such legislation is critical to the industry, as it would act to level the playing field between bricks and mortar retailers and Internet-only retailers.

JCK