In Washington, a 12-member "super committee" of legislators is haggling over spending cuts and generating tax revenues. Confidence in Congress to get the job done on our stumbling economy is at an all-time low. But America's strength has always been about the democratic discussion of big ideas. In a free society, one person can change the world with creative problem solving. So we want to hear more from you: what are your big ideas for solving the economy?

In 2007, Governor Deval Patrick became the first black governor of Massachusetts. In his first term, Patrick oversaw the implementation of the state's 2006 health care reform program, defended the legality of same-sex marriages and increased the state's sales tax to 6.5 percent. Now in his second term, the man born into poverty on Chicago's South Side has written a memoir called “A Reason to Believe: Lessons From an Improbable Life.” Governor Deval Patrick joins The Takeaway to talk about his path to the governor's mansion —and the road ahead.

The health care debate isn't subsiding in Washington. A Republican effort to repeal the health care law failed in the Senate Wednesday night, while a Democratic amendment to repeal the law's new tax-reporting requirements passed with bipartisan support. Senate Republicans vowed this will not be their last attempt to repeal the law. Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich lays out the roadmap for the Republican plan to piece-by-piece tear away at the law.

China's President Hu Jintao is heading to the United States this week and will meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Marcus Mabry, associate national editor for The New York Times, and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, discuss what they expect to come out of this meeting between the leaders of two of the most powerful countries in the world.

The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson on Saturday rocked the country this weekend. The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich and Callie Crossley, host of The Callie Crossley Show on WGBH in Boston, take a look at how the shooting has changed the national agenda and what else we can expect this week. 

A hospital in Tucson, Ariz. confirmed yesterday that a patient who was refused a liver transplant because of state budget cuts has died. A spokeswoman for the hospital said the death was “most likely” due to the de-funding of the transplant, The Arizona Daily Star reported. The patient was the second transplant-seeking Arizona resident to die since state legislators refused to pay the bill for about a hundred organ seekers in October. The cuts are said to save the financially strapped state about $4.5 million a year. 

It's been a big week as Washington gets back to work. There are questions about whether the Republican-dominated House can actually repeal the health care plan. Meanwhile, Democrats are finally "finding their voice" on health care, says Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, as they prepare to counter GOP claims about the bill.

On the insistence of House Republicans, the U.S. Constitution will be read from beginning to end today on the floor of the House of Representatives. This may prove a fitting overture to what could be a Congressional session filled with Constitutional battles. Is this reading a stunt or a significant symbol of how Congress will work?

A federal district judge in Virginia declared a key provision of the Obama health care act unconstitutional on Monday. It's the first court in the country to invalidate any part of the law, which has been upheld by two other judges.

The co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility have come up with a list of proposals of possible cuts in order to help offset the looming national deficit. Balancing the budget by 2015 will require finding ways to save $200 billion. So far, no decisions have been made on what programs should be cut, and lawmakers have to agree on where to begin.

So, we're doing the job for them - at least hypothetically. All this week, we're picking one program a day to cut and looking at what the ripple effect would be of doing so.

Insurance companies used to treat many women-specific health concerns as a liability. The health care reform bill aims to improve coverage parity with men. Before reform, it was legal for insurance companies to charge women more than men for the same coverage. Private providers routinely charged women 20, 40 even 80 percent more than their male counterparts. Some insurance providers listed pregnancy and being a victim of domestic violence as pre-existing conditions, allowing them to deny women coverage.

Mid-term elections are just two weeks away, and a frenzy of campaigning from President Obama, First Lady Michelle, and the Tea Party express is about to get underway.

Takeaway managing producer, Noel King, and Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC Radio, explore what's ahead this week as we get close to election day.

President Obama signed his historic health care reform bill into law back in March, and now, six months later, three key provisions in the bill take effect: 

• There will no longer be a lifetime cap on health insurance.
• Parents can now keep their child under their plan until they are 26 years old.
• Insurance companies can no longer refuse coverage for children with pre-existing conditions.

A new study shows that Caesarian sections account for about 1/3 of births in the U.S. And that number is expected to rise. Is the C-Section becoming the new natural and safe way to give birth? We want to hear from you: what's so natural about "natural" birth, anyway?

Today an FDA advisory panel meets with lawmakers to hammer out voluntary best practices for doctors who prescribe opiates. The regulation of opioid drugs like Oxycontin has loosened in recent years, as patient advocates asked for powerful narcotic painkillers for end-of-life care and cancer treatments. But in loosening restrictions for such cases, the FDA opened a window for wider prescriptions — and for abuse.

Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan come from hill towns and farm country all across America – and when they return home, they bring their combat injuries with them. Traumatic brain injuries and missing limbs require sophisticated and constant treatment, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has a duty to treat them. But when roads are blocked by snow, or the nearest VA facility is hours away, giving veterans the care they’ve been promised can be a challenge.

In California, an outbreak of whooping cough — a bacterial infection that results in fits of coughing — has reached epidemic propotions. Five infants, all of them Latino, have died this year. California health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, in Colorado, an outbreak of meningitis has killed two Fort Collins residents. The two diseases aren't connected, but their appearance is raising questions about whether we've become complacent about getting vaccinations — or whether lack of access to health care is to blame.

The national home improvement chain, Lowe's has a new benefit for its employees with heart problems — free surgery at one of the country’s top hospitals. The North Carolina-based chain has reached a three-year agreement with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which can save Lowe’s employees several thousands of dollars.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us about Sidney Thomas and why his name is being floated as a possible replacement to Justice John Paul Stevens. We also talk about states that are challenging the constitutionality of the health care law, and Congress' decision on extending unemployment benefits.
• RESPONSES TAKEOUT: We hear from you, our listeners, and what you had to say about a replacement for Justice Stevens. And we hear the nominees for the Takeaway t-shirt contest.

Attorneys general from 16 states are challenging the health care legislation that was signed into law by President Obama last month. They're contesting the constitutionality of the law.