House OKs funding for Mars mission(AP/CNN){Commerce, Justice, State Depts}

Funding for State, Justice and Commerce departments also passes

Thursday, June 29, 2006; Posted: 1:20 p.m. EDT (17:20 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's plan to send man to Mars in coming decades received a green light Thursday as the House passed a bill funding the annual budgets of NASA and the departments of Commerce, Justice and State.

The bill passed after a meandering three-day debate that touched on everything from medical marijuana laws to the Pacific Northwest's troubled salmon fishery. Along the way, House lawmakers endorsed the Supreme Court's ruling to permit evidence seized in violation of long-standing "knock and announce" rules and endorsed bilingual ballots for citizens whose native language isn't English.

The bill, which covers the annual budgets of the departments of Commerce, State and Justice and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the 10th of 11 annual spending bills to pass the House in a tight budget climate that has lawmakers bemoaning cuts across a wide spectrum of programs. This comes even as GOP core voters worry that Congress is being too fast and loose with taxpayers' money.

Senate yet to take up measures

The Senate is just getting started in advancing its versions of the annual spending bills, the core job of Congress each year. On Thursday, the Appropriations Committee approved a $30.7 billion measure funding the Energy Department's budget as well as flood control projects cherished by lawmakers.
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On Bush's plan to eventually send man to Mars, the House on Wednesday rejected by a 259-163 vote a move by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to stop early stage preparatory work to send U.S. astronauts to Mars as the House debated a $59.8 billion measure funding .
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/29/congress.spending.ap/index.html

There's enough political news in this that I thought LBN was more appropriate than Science. Each of the Depts. covered by this funding is discussed at least a little.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of the space program. I would gladly support a manned mission to Mars.

But with a war in Iraq, trillion dollar tax cuts for the rich, and 500 billion deficits, where exactly is the money for this coming from?

Personally, I would be more in favor of an international manned mission to Mars. Us working with the Russians, the Chinese. But that's silly naive me, I guess.

With global warming past the tipping point, we'll need a new planet to screw up.

:grr:

and the problem of global warming.

that will directly impact their constituents? Health insurance affordability . . . maybe? Republicans are ruining this country and every day we're closer to the edge.