After this morning's show, The Takeaway's co-host Celeste Headlee reacts to the Congressional deadlock over the Federal Aviation Authority authorization bill that has left the agency partially shutdown and about 4,000 FAA workers indefinitely furloughed. She discusses a recent Pew Research Center study which reveals that a growing number of Americans are disgusted with both Democrats and Republicans, and, as a result, are choosing to affiliate with neither party. Celeste reminds us that there is only one solution to political dysfunction: educate yourself and show up at the polls to vote.

With Congress at an impasse over an authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Authority, the agency is partially shutdown, leaving about 4,000 FAA workers indefinitely furloughed. They have already gone one two-week pay period without receiving a paycheck — and that could last until September if Congress does not come to an agreement soon. 

After weeks of a bitter standoff, Congress and the White House have finally reached a deal on how to raise the debt ceiling in the 11th hour. The deal was passed by the House of Representatives on Monday evening and is expected to pass the Senate early Tuesday afternoon. But some question whether the President conceded too much in the debate, and if the administration is calling this compromise a victory. For a perspective from the White House, we talk with Jennifer Psaki, White House Deputy Communications Director.

House Speaker John Boehner is betting that Americans want to cut spending only and not raise taxes. President Obama is betting that Americans see the White House as offering options to Congress — whether or not legislators take any of them. So whose bet will result in a win, whose will be a loss, and how will the gambling impact Americans and the world economy? Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, talks about the latest news and how it's playing out. 

There are two major stories in the news both revolving around deals that have been held up by long, entrenched standoffs.

First, the debt debate wages on in Washington. After hours of closed-door meetings with high-level members of Congress, rumors floated around Capitol Hill yesterday that President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner were close to reaching a debt deal that would call for as much as $3 trillion in savings. 

On the Senate floor, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky sought to single-handedly block a vote which would extend two sections of the Patriot Act and a related intelligence law set to expire on Thursday night. The Senator's opinion stood in opposition to the majority of both parties who hoped to approve a four year extension. Senator Paul objected to majority leader Harry Reid’s "hurry-up" vote, which would not allow votes on several proposed amendments. Julian Sanchez is a research fellow at the CATO institute where he focuses primarily on issues of civil liberty, surveillance, intelligence and national security. He drills down into the Patriot Act renewal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called a vote on Representative Paul Ryan's Medicare plan Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to take sides on what has become a defining issue for the 2012 campaign. The vote comes one day after Democrat Kathy Hochul's upset victory in New York's heavily Republican 26th Congressional District. The vote was seen as a chance to test the air on Medicare reform, and Hochul's victory made one thing clear: the winds have changed. Jennifer Steinhauer, congressional correspondent for The New York Times, says that with an election year on the horizon, Democrats are using the opportunity to puff up their sails — while some Republicans are scrambling to change tack.

He's got a website, an exploratory committee and a history of leadership; can Newt Gingrich become the next president? The former speaker of the house has officially entered the race. With analysis is Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich. 

The president travels to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan today; but back in Washington the debate over the budget and debt ceilign continues. A bipartisan group of lawmakers will meet for the first time with Vice President Joe Biden to try to find an agreement on raising the debt limit. And as can be expected, there's a lot of jockeying and lowering of expectations. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich shares the latest.

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law denying federal benefits to same sex partners. The House had hired the law firm, King & Spalding, to defend the law in court as DOMA faces constitutional challenges from gay rights group. However, the firm has dropped the House as a client, saying they won't argue the case. The firm didn't offer a concrete reason for its move; however, Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains that gay rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign were getting ready to launch a major campaign against the firm.

The House passed a yearlong spending bill on Thursday that would cut $39 billion from national spending. 179 Republicans and 81 Democrats voted for the measure, which will keep the government running until September. But the vote did a lot more than avert a shutdown. It laid bare, for the first time, a new dynamic at work in Congress. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains how the vote showed that sometimes all politics is not always local.

President Barack Obama outlined a comprehensive plan on Wednesday to reduce the nation's looming deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years. His plan, which includes tax increases for the wealthy, changes to social welfare programs and long-term spending cuts, was offered as a Democratic alternative to the proposal put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) which would fundamentally alter Medicare and Medicaid. In the next few weeks, members of Congress will have to decide whether to raise the nation's debt ceiling, and Vice President Joe Biden will lead negotiations to move congressional leaders towards common ground. Will they find it? 

On Thursday, the House Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Republican Congressman Peter King, is scheduled to hold a hearing on the radicalization of American Muslims. Earlier, we spoke with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of the Cordoba Initiative, who was concerned that the coverage of the hearing in the Muslim world could further damage the relationship between America and Islam. Such concerns are surely connected to the media in the Middle East. How will the hearings be covered in the Muslim world? 

As the battle over the budget continues in Congress this week, Speaker of the House John Boehner faces what might be his first big test as he has been criticized by both the right and the left. The Tea Party has put extreme pressure on Boehner to keep him from compromising with President Obama and the Democrats; at the same time he faces a Senate that's not under his party's control. The Takeaway's Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich has the latest on the budget negotiations and whether a government shutdown is still a possibility.

In an effort to avoid a government shutdown, the U.S. House approved a stopgap budget on Tuesday that would buy Congress more time to approve a final budget. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure today. In a vote of 335-91, the House voted to cut $4 billion in spending in order to keep the government open until March 18. We talk with Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich about the bargaining chips being used to avoid a government shutdown.

With Christmas just days away, the lame-duck Congress has been working around the clock to get promised pieces of legislation pushed through. But one notable bill that hasn't been checked off the to-do list is the 9/11 First Responders' Bill. If passed, it would provide health care to thousands of firefighters, policemen and emergency workers who suffer health problems because of their work at Ground Zero. Will Congress deliver?

The White House/GOP deal to extend both the across-the-board Bush-era tax cuts and unemployment benefits passed the Senate yesterday. Next stop: the House of Representatives. But unlike the Senate, the House's members on both sides are further out on the fringes, making a "yea" vote for the deal more difficult to garner. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich joins us to look ahead at the wrangling to come.

There are a lot of items on the agenda today for Congress: votes on the so-called Dream Act, a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military, and tax cuts. But will any of them pass? We speak with Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich to get a better idea of what might actually get through Congress and what's likely to be dead on arrival. 

Today, we take a deeper look at Rhode Island's political landscape in the run-up to the midterm elections. Rhode Island's unemployment rate, at 11 percent, is one of the highest in the country. Democrats are fighting to hang on to Patrick Kennedy's vacated house seat and President Obama has yet to endorse the Democratic candidate for governor, who is locked in a fierce four-way race. 

We talk to Buddy Cianci, former mayor of Providence and current host of WPRO's talk radio program The Buddy Cianci Show.  

On Capitol Hill this week, Democratic lawmakers will make a last-ditch attempt to get the financial regulations bill passed before heading into mid-term elections. Democratic Senators are also struggling to extend unemployment benefits to the nation's jobless, but have yet to secure enough votes to avoid a Republican filibuster. And while the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, it is likely Republicans will delay Tuesday's vote until next week.

Outside the beltway, this week marks the start of earnings season. Investors and economics will be watching closely to see if the economy is on the road to recovery or headed for a double-dip recession.