President Obama held a press conference earlier today to talk about the issues ahead—including reducing the deficit and raising the debt ceiling—as his first term comes to an end, and his second starts next week.

Let’s give our businesses and the world the certainty that our economy and our reputation are still second to none. We pay our bills. We handle our business. And then we can move on—because America has a lot to do. We’ve got to create more jobs. We've got to boost the wages of those who have work. We’ve got to reach for energy independence. We've got to reform our immigration system. We’ve got to give our children the best education possible, and we've got to do everything we can to protect them from the horrors of gun violence.

Read the President’s remarks in full.