US Intelligence Budget $75bn per year

A U.S. top intelligence official disclosed on Tuesday that the country has spent about 75 billion US dollars a year on intelligence. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told reporters when he introduced his 2009 National Intelligence Strategy, that intelligence activities across the government and military cost a total of 75 billion dollars a year, which accounts for more than 10 percent of the annual U.S. defense budget at 650 billion dollars or so.

The strategy includes the full budget figure for the national intelligence program, including the government's 16 intelligence agencies and the military counterparts. It was the first time for the U.S. government to disclose the overall cost of intelligence activities including those related to the military.

Under pressure from lawmakers and human rights groups, the U.S. government has taken some measures to make its intelligence spending more transparent, whose total amount was kept confidential before 2007. In 2008, the Bush administration only disclosed the amount spent by the 16 intelligence agencies, at 47.5 billion dollars, but the military intelligence program was not included.

• "U.S. spends $75 bln a year on intelligence: official", Xinhua, 9/16/09.
• "The National Intelligence Strategy of the United States of America, August 2009.