President Obama's plan to replace aging spy satellites is meeting some resistance in Congress because of the cost. The administration said this week that it wants to purchase expensive new spy satellites for the long run, but in the short term buy commercial imagery from the private sector to fill gaps in coverage. The proposal is designed to replace a failed satellite program led by Boeing that ran into delays and cost overruns. 

Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to hold off on its plan.

"The amount of resources this acquisition will consume is very large and the savings from selecting a cheaper but equally effective alternative could be applied to meet other critical intelligence shortfalls," Bond said in a letter to the White House.

The fight involves big government money for high technology companies, including giant defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The government already spends tens of millions of dollars a year on private imagery from firms, including DigitalGlobe of Colorado and GeoEye of Virginia. And it is always looking for better ways to enlist high-tech for national intelligence.

For more on this satellite controversy:
- see this nextgov.com article