It's good to be an advisor

The federal government is one of the nation’s biggest sources of income for so-called “outside experts.” An article posted on the Government Executive website claimed that last year “federal agencies spent $334 million on 825 advisory committees.”

The story cited an analysis by the Congressional Research Service document, which revealed that “around 70,000 people serve as members” of advisory committees and subcommittees on average each year. The CRS says that they participated in 7,173 meetings last year....