Over the years the Capitol Hill townhouse owned by the Twenty First Century Group has been the venue for several fundraisers for a former House Democrat, and the lobbying group has now hired the ex-congressman as a senior adviser.

Former Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., who lost his seat in the House in January after seven terms, appears to have been hired for his knowledge of the budget and appropriations process and his close relationship to members on both sides of the aisle after serving as one of the leaders of the centrist Democrats’ Blue Dog Coalition, according to a press release last week.

Though he is not supposed to lobby for a one-year “cooling-off” period, he will have plenty of opportunities to leverage his relationships with members, including at fundraisers.

The group is putting on no less than nine moneymakers for Democrats next month, including one for Boyd’s former Appropriations Committee colleague Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. The firm puts on more fundraisers than all but one other lobby shop on the Hill, according to Party Time’s data, and the firm mostly does so for Democrats.

Boyd was in Lowey’s position about a year ago, when, just as the Appropriations Committee was considering the president’s budget, he invited donors to a fundraiser at the Twenty First Century Group. By the looks of Boyd’s campaign expenditure reports, he held at least five fundraisers at the townhouse last election cycle. The Boyd campaign paid the group nearly $6,000 for room rentals during that time, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The firm’s CEO, former Rep. Jack Fields, R-Texas, said he has worked with Boyd for over a decade and that Boyd’s experience on the Budget and Appropriations Committees would “prove invaluable” to their clients. Indeed, one of the firm’s biggest clients, the Telecommunications Development Fund, a venture capital firm, hired the group to lobby on telecom issues in the federal budget. Twenty First Century’s biggest client is a county in Boyd’s home state for which the group successfully secured infrastructure dollars.

In discussing his top value for the group’s clients, Boyd said in a press release, “I enjoyed and valued a wide network of personal friendship and professional relationships among government officials in both parties.”

One of the firm’s leading lobbyists, former Democratic staffer Jocelyn Hong, who is listed as a host on many of the invitations to fundraisers at the house, has a history of supporting Boyd. He was the second federal candidate she donated to — back in 1997, during Boyd’s first re-election campaign — and gave him $3,400 last election, more than she gave any other member of Congress, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Twenty First Century Group, whose clients include Time Warner and Verizon, would appear to be positioned for plenty of business over the next couple of years. Telecom is a growth area for lobbyists, with President Obama’s budget calling for expanded funding for rural broadband expansion and more funds for the Federal Communications Commission and cybersecurity. The president of the Telecommunications Industry Association told the National Journal the budget aligned with many of  TIA’s proposals and will urge Congress to approve Obama’s initiatives (pay-wall).

The firm’s CEO, Fields, chaired a House telecommunications subcommittee in the 1990s.

Part of a series: Fundraising Spots Around the Capitol

Unlike many other Capitol Hill townhouses — which members of Congress can use for free or rent for a relatively small sum — congressional candidates shell out $1750 to hold a fundraiser at the Twenty First Century Group house.

The outfit is one of 26 lobbying firms that use a space around the Capitol for fundraisers. There are about 126 townhouses and offices located blocks from the Capitol building, 70 percent of which are the homes or offices of lobbyists and lobbying clients. Most of these locations are among 84 historic townhouses identified in an analysis of Party Time’s database. [See the embeddable map: Where the sites are and who holds the most events]

Though the owner of the house and CEO of the group is former Texas Republican Congressman Jack Fields, the group is advertised as bipartisan and the vast majority of its fundraisers appear to be for Democrats. Invitations to at least 130 fundraisers at the location have been sent out since Party Time began collecting invitations in 2008.

Just like the Associated General Contractors property, the house’s convenient location makes it easy for lawmakers and lobbyists to attend many gatherings on busy weekday nights. Three blocks south of the Capitol, it’s a short walk from three Democratic mainstays: the Democratic National Committee, the National Democratic Club — the left aisle’s private club — and the fundraising firm Erickson & Company.

The lobbying shop counts Verizon, Time Warner and the Telecommunications Development Fund, a venture capital fund, as clients, reflecting Fields’ expertise with telecom issues: he rose to become chair of the subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance in the mid-1990s.

But the face of the group’s fundraisers appears to be lobbyist Jocelyn Hong, a former Democratic aide, whose name headlined at least 65 invitations to fundraisers at the townhouse since Party Time began record-keeping. She would not comment on the fundraisers, saying that it is company policy not to talk to the media.

The firm plays host to many Democrats that have sided with Verizon and Time Warner. Back in May, Free Press reported that phone and cable lobbyists were pressing Democrats to sign on to a letter opposing the Federal Communication Commission’s move to reclassify the Internet as a telecommunications service, which would give it more regulatory authority over Internet lines.

Among 73 Democrats signing that letter are members who have planned at least four events at the house over the years: Energy and Commerce Committee member Baron Hill, D-Ind., Joe Baca, D-Calif.,  and Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo. The letter was circulated by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who received a $1,000 contribution from Fields last election, the only Democrat he gave to on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is responsible for telecom issues, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Hong has given only $750 to him over the years.

Two days after the letter was dated, one of the signers, House Progressive Caucus member Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, planned an evening reception fundraiser at the house headlined by Hong, asking for contributions as high as $2,500. A week before the event, her campaign reported paying the lobby shop $1,750 for catering, records show.

Fields donated to three of the top-ranking GOP members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, responsible for telecom issues, for the midterm elections. Ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, got the most among committee members ($2,000) while two other top members competing for the chairmanship, Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., also benefited, as did Greg Walden, R-Ore., a former broadcasting executive who took a leave of absence from the committee to join the House GOP leadership. Barton planned a “Private PAC Lunch!” at the townhouse last year and he, Stearns and Shimkus have said they oppose FCC regulation of the Internet.

But far from focusing on Energy Committee members, there is a broad mix of Democrats planning events at this house from different caucuses, including the Progressive Caucus, the conservative Blue Dogs, the pro-growth New Democrats, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

In fact, the members of the Appropriations Committee, who allocate federal dollars for agencies and earmarks, lead all others, invitations records show. The lobby shop’s two biggest clients have business before the powerful panel.

Twenty First Century’s biggest client this year — Manatee County in coastal Florida — hired Fields and co. to secure federal dollars for projects in a slew of appropriations bills, including infrastructure improvements to its port, lobbying reports show. The port won over $12 million for projects with the help of Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla. who does not appear to have been honored at the townhouse but did get a $500 donation from Hong this election, CRP data shows. The other client, the Telecommunication Development Fund, hired the group to lobby on the telecom portion of the federal budget, as well as rural broadband and spectrum issues, according to lobbying reports.

The three top all-time beneficiaries of Hong’s campaign contributions serve on the Appropriations panel: Reps. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., a Blue Dog booted from his seat on Nov. 2, Ed Pastor, D-Ariz. and Mike Honda, D-Calif., both in the Progressive Caucus. The three have received $2,250, $3,550 and $2,000 from the lobbyist, respectively, and all have planned fundraisers at the townhouse this year.

In all, of 14 office-seekers who Hong gave over $7,000 to for the midterms, half sit on the powerful committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Though Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, banned earmarks to for-profit companies and House Republicans have sworn off all earmarks for one year, one thing hasn’t changed. Appropriators of both parties are still holding fundraisers in the lead up to tomorrow’s deadline for submitting earmark requests.

Obey held a fundraiser one day after he announced the move to ban earmarks to private companies. Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were among many other lawmakers who also held fundraisers after the decision was made.

Other events came before Obey’s announcement. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) both held parties. Their invitations boast their positions on the Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful House committees responsible for keeping track of the governments’ expenditures.

On the other side of the aisle, Republican Appropriations Committee members like Rep. Kay Granger (TX) and Rep. C W Bill Young (FL) will also hold fundraisers in the coming weeks. Granger, who is throwing her 12^th annual three-day Fiesta Fundraiser, wrote an editorial for the Star-Telegram on March 17, stating that the moratorium is an “opportunity for House Republicans to lead with reform and re-establish a better process.”

A list of all fundraisers for Appropriations Committee members can be found here.

At least three different lawmakers are planning fundraisers around a Fleetwood Mac concert on March 10 at the Verizon Center: Rep. Allen Boyd, for his leadership PAC, Harvest Pac;  Rep. Ellen Tauscher; and Rep. Joseph Crowley.

They’re asking for different contribution amounts for the privelege of bopping along to “Second Hand News.” Boyd is asking for $2,500 per PAC; Tauscher for $2,000 per PAC, $1,000 in individual contributions; and Crowley ditto what Tauscher said. That’s quite a mark up– I just did a search at Ticketmaster and found a ticket for a considerably cheaper amount, $167.95.

I wonder if there are any GOP fans of Fleetwood Mac out there? If so, we don’t have copies of those invitations. Perhaps the band is verboten ever since President Bill Clinton used “Don’t Stop” as part of his campaign. If you know of any Republicans planning to fundraise around Fleetwood Mac, please send the details on over. 

Other recent fundraising events centering around concerts include an Eagles concert for Sen. Tom Harkin’s leadership PAC, To Organize a Majority PAC back; an evening with The Who to benefit Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Janet Jackson concert for Rep. Bennie Thompson’s Secure PAC, and a Celine Dion concert for now former Rep. Phil English.

Thanks to Asher Berman for help with this post.