This just in from the Associated Press...

"WASHINGTON (AP) - Space-exploration proposals that President Bush is preparing to put into his next budget will not undermine his administration's goal of cutting the federal deficit in half within five years, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Sunday.

Snow said the new space proposals, which include a permanent settlement on the moon and setting a goal of sending Americans to Mars, will be undertaken ``within a framework of fiscal responsibility.''

Snow said the administration's budget, which will be sent to Congress on Feb. 2, will outline the new space proposals plus a plan that will accomplish the goal of cutting record budget deficits in half through a combination of stronger economic growth and spending restraint."

This comes from the adminstration that took your from a $300 billion surplus to a $500 billion deficit in just three years.... this must be some new meaning of "restraint" that us regular folk are not familier with....