Over the last forty years, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has received more than $200 billion to design, build, launch, and operate cutting-edge technologies to take pictures of and eavesdrop on our rivals and enemies all over the globe. Unfortunately, their effectiveness has taken a turn for the worse, threatening the United States' superiority in spy capabilities and our national security.

It's been nearly two years since the NRO last launched a satellite-and even longer since it launched a satellite that was within budget and worked properly. The last two satellites launched were clouded by serious issues, including $1 billion in cost overruns, inadequate testing, and problems with their electronic subsystems. One, an ocean surveillance satellite, was launched two years behind schedule and still failed to work after take off. According to officials at Lockheed-Martin-its designer-mid-flight repairs only recovered 80 percent of its capabilities.

Some of the NRO's problems could have something to do with the agency's director. Peter Teets was confirmed to head the NRO two years after resigning from his position as president of Lockheed Martin Corp. Apparently, his resignation wasn't entirely voluntarily. In the years prior to his departure, failures of the company's Titan rockets were responsible for the loss of three national security satellites - to the tune of $3 billion. Oddly enough, during Mr. Teets' Senate confirmation hearings, no one inquired about his past troubles leading Lockheed Martin.

Now that Mr. Teets is overseeing an agency responsible for highly classified projects, he has a level of immunity from scrutiny that he wasn't afforded as president of Lockheed Martin. Right now the agency's biggest responsibility - the Future Imagery Architecture (FIA) program - is $4 billion over budget and years behind schedule. Last March, Teets testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that he was robbing Peter to pay Paul. To cover the FIA's cost overruns, he reallocated money from other programs, threatening the success of those programs as well.

Spy satellites are the eyes and ears of our campaign against terrorists and other threats to America so it's encouraging to know that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and CIA Director George Tenet are addressing the NRO's failures. Last year, a new office was created at the CIA to develop high-tech intelligence gathering systems. Although no one has officially confirmed its true mission, it is increasingly evident that the new top-secret office will take over many of the responsibilities of the floundering NRO.

However, the level of secrecy cloaking this decision only begs for future waste of taxpayer dollars. On highly classified projects, any details regarding mistakes are also classified, making it virtually impossible for outside watchdogs to hold the agency accountable for the tax dollars that they are spending. We're all for getting rid of a useless agency, but if we're going to take away the NRO's responsibilities, we can't keep giving the agency a $7 billion annual budget.

The increased need for secret spy satellite programs shouldn't come with a high and unjustified price tag. There has got to be a way to make the budgets of these programs more transparent without compromising national security or the programs' effectiveness.

For more information, contact Keith Ashdown at (202)-546-8500 ext. 110 or keith@taxpayer.net