By Zachary Keck
The Washington Post has the latest blockbuster report derived from the documents that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked to media outlets. In a series of articles posted on Thursday, Wapo breaks down the various components of the U.S. “black budget”—that is, the money given to the 16 U.S. spy agencies that make up the intelligence community (IC).
One of the parts of the report that is not classified information is the actual size of the black budget itself. Although the U.S. does not release information on how much funding each agency receives, much less what it goes to, it does publish the aggregate of the 16 spy agencies’ budgets, albeit only after the fiscal year has ended.
For FY 2013 the Obama administration requested US$52.6 billion dollars for the intelligence community. Although Congress might not have approved that much money (we find out September 30), this was actually a decrease from the $53.9 billion the U.S. spent during FY 2012, and the $54.6 billion spent during FY 2011.
Read the full story at The Diplomat