10-5-95. Wash Rag: "Congress Debates Adding Smaller Spy Satellites to NRO's Menu." Top members of the House and Senate intelligence committees are carrying on a behind-the scenes debate over the nation's spy satellite system, with one group arguing that the governmeat could save hundreds of millions of dollars by building a new generation of small satellites to be launched in place of some of the big ones already planned. The Combest group wants to start production now of 2,000-pound space vehicles, each costing about $100 million and nicknamed "small-sats." "$1.6 Billion in NRO Kitty Helped Appropriators Fund Pet Projects." On the morning of Sept. 21, security men bustled around Room H-140 on the first floor of the Capitol, sweeping it to ensure that the space was free of electronic eavesdropping devices. This year's session turned out to be different from any in recent memory. The conferees took more than $1 billion from the once-sacrosanct spy satellite program of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to help make room in the budget to speed up purchases of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of big-ticket defense items, including the B-2 "stealth" bomber. xus_ORN (17 kb)