eBay strongly encourages the Senate to take up and pass the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (H.R. 644), which would support the ability of small Internet-enabled retailers to successfully export across the globe. According to the new Small Online Business Growth Report, 97% of eBay-enabled U.S. small businesses export and 59% of those reach 10 or more different foreign markets. This statistic is notable because less than 4% of traditional businesses export, regardless of their size.

Pictured from left to right: eBay Seller Mac Griffiths, eBay GR Team Member Katie Stevens, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams

This article originally appeared on BIPAC.net. Written by Bo Harmon, Senior Vice-President, Political Field Divison of BIPAC.

On Monday morning before the first votes were cast in Iowa, Donald Trump held a 20 point lead in New Hampshire and a 15 point lead in South Carolina. If he had won Iowa, there was broad expectation that he would cruise on through New Hampshire and South Carolina on his way to wrapping up the GOP nomination. Now, there are dozens of scenarios of how the race could turn out, but Trump running the table is no longer one of them.

In just 5 days, on February 1^st 2016, Iowa will formally kick off the presidential nomination process and hold the first caucuses in the nation. They hold special significance in the Presidential election process, because they are the first time voters will weigh in on the Presidential nomination contest. The Caucuses are notorious for weaning out non-viable candidates and setting the stage for the rest of the Presidential Election.  

On January 12, President Obama gave his eighth and final State of the Union address to the nation. A time-honored institution written into the U.S. Constitution, this speech allows the President to update Congress and the American people on the status of his agenda, the country’s accomplishments, as well as the challenges we have yet to confront.

Tekedra Mawakana, an experienced public policy leader has joined eBay as its new vice president of Government Relations. She will lead legislative, policy, antitrust and government affairs for eBay forging relationships with government officials and other stakeholders around the world.

Today, the House and Senate passed a $1.15 trillion bipartisan spending bill which will fund the government until September 2016. Thanks in part to the efforts of the eBay Main Street community, this comprehensive appropriations bill did not include destructive remote sales tax collection and remittance requirements for online sellers. This result is a huge win for U.S. Internet-enabled small businesses.