5% of X = $1 Billion. Solve for X.

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

And what is x? Just one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Central Intelligence Agency -- the budget for its National Foreign Intelligence Program. And now the secret is out. In a letter to Senators before he left, outgoing spy chief ROBERT GATES urged them to reject a $1 billion cut in the program's budget. Senators described the $1 billion slash as a 5% cut. If 5% of the budget is $1 billion, the program's budget must be $20 billion. Intelligence officials, with a wink, confirm the figure. Basic math skills + common sense = government secrets revealed.