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A Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday said that Congress cannot solve the problem of football head injuries after a hearing on the topic held today.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) took to Twitter after the hearing, during which committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) called for a review of all head injury data in the National Football League.

The congressman tweeted:

At a Judiciary Comm hearing w/ Tiki Barber & others on football head injuries. A serious prob but not one for which Cong has the solutions.

Goodlatte echoed the opinion of ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) who said, "the NFL does not need Congress to referee this issue.""the NFL does not need Congress to referee this issue."

Goodlatte's mention of former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber is no coincidence. Barber played his college football at the University of Virginia.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith both testified at the hearing.

Sen. Kirsten Gillirbrand (D-N.Y.) had a strong message for Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) on Wednesday: "you're going down!"

No, she wasn't talking about a piece of legislation or his primary against Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) This jab was about the World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, which starts tonight in the Bronx.

Gillibrand tweeted today:

@SenArlenSpecter Respectfully, Senator, sir...you're going down!

@twittificatious Just a friendly wager w/ @SenArlenSpecter over who will win the World Series

Twitter users @twittificatious was originally confused by her message. He tweeted:

@SenGillibrand Why doe Sen. Specter deserve your unkind words?

The smack talk started when New York's and Pennsylvania's senators made a bet on who would win the Word Series this week. 

If the Phillies win, Specter and Sen. Robert Casey will receive a shipment of New York cheesecake courtesy of the Empire State's delegation.

If the Yankees win, Sens. Gillibrand and Charles Schumer will get a serving of Philly cheesesteaks from the Keystone Staters. 

Specter, like a good, boisterous Philadelphia fan, started the trash talking, tweeting "I look forward to enjoying NY cheesecakes, although nothing will be as sweet as the Phillies' back-to-back titles."

Specter has yet to fire back. 

UPDATED 3:04 p.m.

Specter responded, tweeting:

Hey @SenGillibrand, can you recommend a good cheesecake? We will be too busy celebrating the Phillies victory to decide.

A duo of Florida lawmakers took to Twitter on Tuesday to praise the launch of the new Ares I-X rocket today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. 

Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), who represents Cape Canaveral, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) both tweeted after the new rocket's successful launch at approximately 11:30 a.m. today:

Posey: go Ares I-X!!!! beautiful launch! congrats to the entire NASA team! #NASA

Nelson: Today’s picture-perfect launch of the new experimental Ares rocket shows America remains the leader in science and technology.

Nelson tweeted during the the launch's scheduled time yesterday, which was scrubbed due to poor weather. As a member of the House, Nelson went into space on the shuttle Columbia.

But the Ares rocket is designed to phase out the vehicle in which Nelson once flew. The rocket is designed to propel into space a new four-to-six man capsule named Orion. The new vehicle will replace the shuttle program, which will be phased out in 2010.

Today's launch was an unmanned test flight of the Ares. NASA itself tweeted after the launch:

Ares I-X has launched!!!

Separation of I-X upper stage!

Ships have spotted the Ares I-X booster and are steaming toward it.

As a senator, Nelson has taken a keen interest in NASA. This month he called on the Obama administration to redirect stimulus funds toward the space agency, which is experiencing serious budget shortfalls.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) cited Iran opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi's stance against sanctions on the Tehran government.

Ellison, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tweeted from a Foreign Affairs Committee markup on proposed sanctions against Iran:

Foreign Affairs mark up on increasing sanctions on Iran. I oppose. Why do Shirin Ebadi, Mousavi & democracy advocates say bad idea?

Two weeks ago, Congress sent a bill to President Barack Obama that included measures barring companies that sell fuel to Iran from winning U.S. contracts. The Foreign Affairs panel is now working on a bill that targets firms that invest in Iran's domestic production of oil.

Obama and other world leaders at the G20 offered tough words for Iran after a secret, underground nuclear facility was revealed in the country. The world leaders expressed support for increased sanctions on Iran in response.

But Ellison is poised to buck the president, arguing that Iran's opposition leaders who deeply oppose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime do not want sanctions because they believe they will harm the country's citizens economically. 

While Mousavi has opposed sanctions, human rights lawyers Shirin Ebadi did offer her support for some sanctions in response to election fraud on behalf of Ahmadinejad this summer. 

Critics question the sincerety of opposition leaders' stance on sanctions, saying that it is a move to appeal to the public.

Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.), who is considered the leading challenger facing Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) applauded his state's other senator for opposing the public option.

Today, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said that he would vote against the Senate's healthcare reform bill, which includes a government-run public plan. Liberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, now leaves Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) at least one vote short of cloture on the bill.

Simmons tweeted:

Senator Lieberman is right to oppose the Dodd/Reid healthcare gov't option http://bit.ly/3augfS

Dodd participated in the healthcare bill merger process. He previously served as de facto chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee during the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) absence due to illness. 

The HELP committee's bill included a public option while the Senate Finance Committee's did not.

"We’re trying to do too much at once,” said Lieberman today. “To put this government-created, government-run insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayer, for the premium payer and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now.”

UPDATED 3:18 p.m.

Ex-World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R-Conn.), another Dodd challenger, backed Liberman's decision. Her campaign tweeted:

Sen. Lieberman made the right decision opposing government-run health care.http://bit.ly/335syd #linda2010

Need transparency in Congress - Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)
Protect the electric grid - Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.)
Playing in congressional football game - Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Obama/Pelosi health plan will hurt seniors - Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.)
Double Speaker - RNC Research
We'll have plan to help seniors - Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)
Sanford impeachment measure goes forth - DGA
What a protest - SEIU
Trumka said bankers have failed - AFL-CIO
Home state getting smart grid funding - Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on Tuesday hailed the launch of NASA's Ares I-X rocket as the "future of America's space program."

But the future will have to wait at least another hour after Nelson said it would begin; the launch was delayed by poor weather.

Nelson, who heads the Commerce, Science and Transportation Space and Science Subcommittee, tweeted today just before 10 a.m.:

The future of America’s space program is 3 minutes away from launch.

Weather has stalled Ares launch, stay tuned.

NASA's official Twitter account sent out the new launch time:

Ares I-X new targeted launch time is 10:54 a.m. EDT.

The space agency is sending Ares on an unmanned test flight today. The rocket will eventually carry a four-to-six person capsule called Orion. The two vessels are slated to become the primary means through which NASA will send people and materials to space. The shuttle program is due to be retired in 2010.

Signs have emerged, however, that U.S. manned spaceflight could be in jeopardy. Last week's "Augustine Report" issued by the White House raised questions about the fiscal viability of manned missions beyond 2010.

Nelson, whose state is home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said in response that the Obama administration should redirect unspent stimulus dollars toward NASA. 

UPDATED 12:41 p.m.

It looks like the future will have to wait until another day. The Ares launch was scrubbed due to poor weather.

Nelson tweeted:

Well, weather didn’t cooperate. Ares launch scrubbed for today. Maybe go for tomorrow, or the next day?

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) on Monday hinted he would support an effort to repeal a 1996 law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Referencing his chamber's recent, successful effort to pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act -- a law that permits harsh penalties on those who commit crimes based on sexual orientation -- Specter tweeted:

Just as we were finally able to pass hate crimes legislation, it's time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

However, that would be an interesting, unexpected change of heart for Specter, who initially voted for the Clinton-era marriage bill.

As recently as a month ago, the Pennsylvania senator was defending DOMA and stressing same-sex marriage was a debate "appropriately addressed at the state level" -- a position that has long earned him the scorn of the liberal blogosphere, much less local voters, who still scoff at his decision to defect to the Democratic Party.

Nevertheless, the six-term incumbent now seems somewhat amenable to some form of a repeal -- a position, interestingly enough, long maintained by his Democratic primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.).

Sestak, however, is a step ahead of Specter: The congressman and Senate candidate is the primary advocate for the Respect for Marriage Act, which, among other things, "would require federal recognition of marriages that are valid under the law of the state where performed."

Yet, it is unclear whether Specter supports his Democratic opponent's iteration of a DOMA repeal.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Monday expressed satisfaction with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) decision to include a public health insurance option in the final reform bill.

Dodd participated in the bill's merger process due to his service as de facto Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee chairman during the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) illness. 

The HELP Committee's bill included a public option while the Finance Committee's did not. Dodd tweeted today:

I fought for a strong public option because it is the best way to keep costs low and insurance companies honest.

Majority Leader Reid has made a bold and right choice to endorse the HELP Committee public option.

"As we've gone through this process, I have concluded that the best way to move forward is with a public option with an opt-out provision for states," Reid said in a press conference. "I believe that the public option can achieve the goal of bringing meaningful reform to our system."

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) bucked his own party and endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York's special congressional election.

A number of GOP 2012 presidential hopefuls have lined up behind Hoffman, who is running against Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens. The election will take place in November to replace former Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) who was tapped by President Barack Obama to serve as Army Secretary.

Pawlenty tweeted the endorsement after it was first reported on the conservative blog RedState:

I'm endorsing Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election. @DougforCongress will cut spending & oppose new taxes. http://bit.ly/2VTCbP

More from The Hill's Reid Wilson:

Pawlenty, who has raised his profile in recent weeks as he lays the foundations for a possible presidential bid, becomes the latest candidate to support Hoffman over Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R), the candidate selected by local party leaders to carry the Republican standard.

"We cannot send more politicians to Washington who wear the Republican jersey on the campaign trail but then vote like Democrats in Congress on issues like card-check and taxes," Pawlenty said. "After reviewing the candidates’ positions, I’m endorsing Doug Hoffman in New York’s special election. Doug understands the federal government needs to quit spending so much, will vote against tax increases and protect[s] key values like the right to vote in private in union elections."

As they seek favor with conservative organizations and activists key to winning their party's nomination, several potential candidates have announced they support Hoffman.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) called Hoffman a candidate who would stand against politics as usual. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said on Friday that a vote for Hoffman is a vote for a conservative Republican. And former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) campaigned with Hoffman last week.

And in an effort to distinguish himself as a more conservative candidate, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) — running against Rep. Jerry Moran (R) in a Senate primary — announced last week that he would support Hoffman.

Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is backing Scozzafava, arguing that supporting the Republican nominee is the more practical path.

Other candidates, like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), have said they will not get involved on either candidate's behalf.