Congratulations again, Steve Fossett!

I've previously congratulated Steve Fossett for his non-stop, around-the-world solo flight. Today, he and co-pilot Mark Rebholz successfully recreated a historic 1919 flight to Ireland.

As far as I'm aware, Fossett's projects have never used government money; they've been funded only by his own money and private backers. Yes, he's a millionaire and certainly rich enough, but in this day and age, he could have easily sought federal funding. A friendly Congressman could call it "in the public interest" to justify the expenditure, tack a small appropriation onto a big spending bill where it wouldn't be noticed, and if necessary, do a bit of logrolling.