Will Congress solve budget, farm bill, immigration reform before 2014?
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After averting a default on debt and reopening the government, Congress has some major issues to resolve.
President Barack Obama is laying down a three-item to-do list for Congress that seems meager when compared with the bold, progressive agenda he envisioned at the start of his second term.
But given the capital's partisanship, the complexities of the issues and the limited time left, even those items -- immigration, farm legislation and a budget -- amount to ambitious goals that will take political muscle, skill and ever-elusive compromise to execute.
"Those are three specific things that would make a huge difference in our economy right now," Obama said. "And we could get them done by the end of the year if our focus is on what's good for the American people."
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In the wake of the shutdown, we'll discuss how Congress and the White House can move forward and pass major legislation. Can elected officials rebuild trust with each other and the public?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT FOR CONGRESS:
• Obama Wins! Big Whoop. Can He Lead?
Faced now with the choice between partisan politics and a risky high ground, the president has an opportunity to leverage this "victory" for a long-term budget deal that raises taxes and tames entitlements. Obama won. Now can he lead? (National Journal)
• Five reasons Republicans lost -- and one reason they won (Washington Post)
• The Next Budget Crisis Is Only 90 Days Away
The package to reopen the government runs only through mid-January, and lawmakers have pinned hopes to avert a repeat performance on a new bipartisan, bicameral conference committee. The last similar panel, the so-called super committee of 2011, deadlocked and adjourned in disagreement. (National Journal)
• G.O.P.'s Hopes to Take Senate Are Dimming
Now, instead of sharpening their attacks on Democrats, Republicans on Capitol Hill are being forced to explain why they are not to blame and why Americans should trust them to govern both houses of Congress when the one they do run is in such disarray. (New York Times)
