Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has taken the reins as acting chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee, following Rep. Charles Rangel’s (D-N.Y.) decision to take a leave of absence from this post due to ongoing ethics investigations. Levin is already scheduled to host a couple of upcoming fundraisers for fellow Democrats this month, but he’ll have a long way to go if he’s to match Rangel’s fundraising prowess.

Levin will appear at a breakfast fundraiser for Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ken.) on March 22 at the National Democratic Club Townhouse.  A few days later on March 25, Levin will attend a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Business Council Breakfast fundraiser, where he will be joined by Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.). Party Time’s database shows only two other occasions when Levin hosted fundraisers for another lawmaker – once in the spring of 2008 and once in the summer of 2008 – but bear in mind that Party Time does not receive invitations to every fundraiser, and the Michigan lawmaker may well have hosted other events.

When it comes to raising money, Levin is overshadowed by his predecessor. Since he became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 2007, Rangel raised nearly $7 million for his campaign committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 election cycle, he donated nearly $1.3 million to Democratic candidates, making him the second biggest donor in candidate-to-candidate contributions. Since 2007, Rangel raised nearly $2.5 million for his leadership PAC, of which a nearly $900,000 was donated to other federal candidates.

In the current election cycle, Levin has raised more than $700,000 and has donated $26,000 to fellow Democratic candidates. He has also donated $140,000 to the DCCC. In the 2010 cycle, Levin’s leadership PAC has raised $18,000.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel, under scrutiny for possible ethics violations, has been having trouble raising money lately, reports the New York Times. Next week he’ll be trying with a private dinner hosted by several lobbyists who represent clients with interests befor his committee–and who show up frequently in our Party Time database.

John Raffaelli, a long-time tax lobbyist, in 2007 founded the lobbying firm Capitol Council LLC. His clients include the American Bankers Association, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America. Shannon Finley, who formerly worked for Sen. Max Baucus, is also a lobbyist for the firm, as is David Jones, who used to work as Rangel’s fundraiser. The remaining host, Bernie McKay, is a lobbyist for Intuit.

Also of note about the invitation: “individual hosts” are asked to “write or raise” $2,500, which is higher than the federal individual limit of $2,400. It will be interesting to see if any of these hosts show up later on “bundling” reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

This morning Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), under much scrutiny for possible ethics violations, was scheduled for  his third annual Valentines Day breakfast hosted by a slew of Ernst & Young lobbyists. Ticket prices were $1,000 for individuals, $2,500 for PACs–same as it cost last year. (We hope they are saving some cash on design–the two invitations are in the exact same format.)

The accounting powerhouse Ernst & Young runs a major lobbying operation, collecting nearly $13 million for its efforts last year alone. In the past the firm got some unwanted attention for marketing tax shelters that were perhaps a bit too creative.  As the invitation so helpfully points out, Rangel is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the locus point for decision making on taxes.

Why is Rangel busy raising money, so far out from election time? He never has much opposition. However, he’s quite generous at spreading around his campaign money with his colleagues–a tried and trued method of gaining, and retaining, chairmanships. These days he also needs cash for legal fees.