Washington ( CNN ) -- The United States spent $ 80 billion on spy activities in 2010 , the first time the government has officially announced the total tab for intelligence spending . The amount included $ 53.1 billion on non-military intelligence programs , a 6 percent boost from the previous year , according to a statement released Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence . The military spent an additional $ 27 billion on its intelligence apparatus , said Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan . No further details were released . The government is required by law to reveal the total amount of money spent to spy on other nations , terrorists and other groups by the CIA , the National Security Agency and the other agencies and offices that make up the 16-member intelligence community . While the total intelligence spending has never formally been announced , this is the fourth year the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released the national intelligence budget figure for non-military activities . The intelligence community had resisted efforts to reveal the number , arguing that enemies of the United States could learn valuable information by watching trends in spending . The amount designated for military battlefield intelligence had remained classified . Last year , however then-Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair revealed to reporters the total cost for all intelligence gathering was $ 75 billion , and indicated the amount spent on strictly military intelligence was approximately $ 25 billion . At the urging of the commission set up to investigate the 9/11 terrorist attacks , Congress passed a law in 2007 mandating public disclosure of the non-military spending number at the end of each fiscal year . Specific details on how much each agency spends and on what remain classified . The current director of national intelligence , James Clapper , had said at his confirmation hearings this past summer that the budgets for both strategic intelligence and military spying should be officially made public . The head of the Senate Intelligence committee said it is time to pare down non-military intelligence spending , which has doubled since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 . `` Given the nation 's financial situation , it is my view that the intelligence budget needs to be carefully reviewed and that cuts will be necessary , '' said Sen. Dianne Feinstein , a California Democrat . The senator indicated there is waste and duplication within the budget and added , `` It is clear that the overall spending on intelligence has blossomed to an unacceptable level in the past decade . '' Approximately 100,000 people work on national intelligence , with the majority of employees serving at the big four intelligence agencies : the National Security Agency , the CIA , the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . The United States spent $ 49.8 billion on its national intelligence programs in 2009 , $ 47.5 billion in 2008 and $ 43.5 billion in 2007 , according to the previous reports .
$ 53.1 billion was spent on non-military intelligence , the administration says . The military spent about $ 27 billion on its spy activities . Sen. Dianne Feinstein says there is waste and duplication in the budget .