Obama Sets Priorities for Remainder of 2013

The president says he wants to tackle the budget, immigration reform, and the farm bill.

By Aura Bogado Oct 17, 2013

After Congress finally put a badly needed end to the government shutdown, President Obama laid out his immediate priorities moving forward. Speaking from the White House Thursday morning, the president says he wants to tackle the budget, immigration reform, and the farm bill:

"Those are three specific things that would make a huge difference in our economy right now.  And we could get them done by the end of the year if our focus is on what’s good for the American people. And that’s just the big stuff.  There are all kinds of other things that we could be doing that don’t get as much attention."

It’s a very tall order. The next round of debt and budget negotiations may prove difficult if Republicans dig their heels in once more–which could result in another government shutdown in the next few months. But Obama cautioned against the "process of creating a budget as an ideological exercise."

The Senate has already passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill–but time will tell whether the House will move forward on it. The farm bill has been stalled for a year.