Experts estimate that total spending on American military and non-military intelligence during the Cold War peaked at $ 71 billion ( in 2013 dollars ) in the late 1980s . By 1994 spending for the non-military National Intelligence Program ( NIP ) had declined to $ 43.4 billion . Fiscal 2013 intelligence spending exceeded the Cold War peak , at $ 52.6 billion for NIP and $ 23 billion for military intelligence programs . In constant dollars it is about double the estimated 2001 budget and 25 % greater than the 2006 budget . From the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 to 2013 , the government has spent more than $ 500 billion on intelligence
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
United States intelligence budget