WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The intelligence agencies' budget, often referred to as the "black budget," was slightly reduced by $200 million in Fiscal Year 2014.
However, The Hill newspaper noted that in 2013, classified documents made public by whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) remains the most lavishly funded organization in the US intelligence community.
"The aggregate amount appropriated to the NIP [National Intelligence Program] for Fiscal Year 2015 was $50.3 billion, which includes funding to support overseas contingency operations," the release read on Friday.
However, the Director of National Intelligence refused to disclose any details about how the money was apportioned between the 16 agencies, or on what it will be spent.
"Beyond the disclosure of the NIP top-line figure, there will be no other disclosures of currently classified NIP budget information, because such disclosures could harm national security," the Director of National Intelligence explained.
The next two best-funded organizations were the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and operates intelligence-gathering satellites in Low Earth Orbit, according to documents leaked by Snowden.
US law requires the Director of National Intelligence to release the overall in "black budget" value within 30 days of the appropriations approved by the US Congress under legislation passed by a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and Senate in 2007.
