2007 U.S. Intelligence Budget: $43.5 Billion

By Nathan Schmitt

For the first time in almost a decade, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released the the Intelligence budget for 2007. There is very, very minimal information on the distribution itself, but the total amount is $43.5 Billion. Director Mike McConnell says,

“Any and all information concerning the intelligence budget, whether the information concerns particular intelligence agencies or particular intelligence programmes, will not be disclosed.” (1)

Also, according to the WaPo,

“The director of national intelligence will disclose today that national intelligence activities amounting to roughly 80 percent of all U.S. intelligence spending for the year cost more than $40 billion, according to sources on Capitol Hill and inside the administration.

The disclosure means that when military spending is added, aggregate U.S. intelligence spending for fiscal 2007 exceeded $50 billion, according to these sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the total remains classified.” (2)

That is about a quarter of the amount that Bush requested for next year to fund the war in Iraq. The two aren’t directly related, the comparison is just for scale.