Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the same committee that began the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan Monday, were featured speakers of a June 22nd “Judiciary Roundtable” fundraiser benefiting the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, were listed on the invitation for the event, which was limited to 30 seats at $500-$1,000 per person or political action group. Those who gave $15,000 a year to the NRSC could attend for free.

While this event isn’t included in Party Time’s search for invitations by committee, since Cornyn and Hatch were not the beneficiaries of the fundraiser, there have been at least eight other campaign fundraisers for  the 19 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee between today and May 10 – the day President Obama announced Kagan as his nominee. They include:

• A breakfast this morning at for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Tickets cost $1,000 per PAC and $500 per person.
• A June 24th lunch for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at Charlie Palmer Steak to benefit Wyden’s Senate campaign. Tickets cost $500-$5,000.
• A June 22nd reception for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at The Monocle Restaurant. The numerous hosts listed  included the American Health Care Association PAC. Tickets ranged from $500-$2,500.
• A May 20th breakfast for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Tickets ranged from $500-$1,000.
• A May 19th “Margaritas and Mariachi” at the National Republican Senatorial Committee offices for Sen. Cornyn’s ALAMO PAC. Hosts include the American Society of Anesthesiologists PAC, the Home Depot PAC, and the Verizon Good Gov’t Fund. Tickets cost $250-$2,500.
• A May 19th $1,000 per person “Bagels with Ben” fundraiser for Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.
• A May 13th fundraising dinner hosted by Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., honoring Republican politicians currently running for Senate. They include Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt now running for Senate, Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk now running for the Illinois Senate, former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton now running for Colorado Senator, and former Representative and Bush cabinet member Rob Portman now running for Ohio Senate. Also listed was Senate Minority Leader Mitch MCconnell, R-Ky. Tickets cost $3,000-$5,000 and benefited the Road to Senate Victory Committee 2010.
• A May 12th reception at for Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa. Tickets cost $1,000-$5,000, and the event was billed as the final event before Specter’s Democratic primary, which he would go on to lose to Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak. Hosts included lobbyists Shannon Finley and Tony Podesta.

Elham Khatami co-authored this report.

Since the beginning of 2010 through April, at least ten senators who sit on the Banking and Agriculture Committees are listed as beneficiaries of fundraisers hosted by lobbyists who have pressed Congress on financial reform issues. Both committees have recently worked on a bill to overhaul the financial regulatory system, which will likely be debated on the Senate floor next week.

According to Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time database, the fundraisers ranged from a “pre-St.Patrick’s Day” reception for Banking Committee member Jon Tester, D-Mont., on March 16 that asked for $100 to $1,000 in contributions, to a breakfast for Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, of the Agriculture Committee on March 10 that asked for contributions ranging from $500 to $2,000. Grassley’s breakfast also featured special guest, Banking Committee member Robert Bennett, R-Utah.

Tester’s fundraiser was hosted by 28 people, at least two of whom have disclosed lobbying on financial reform this year: Mitchell Feuer who represents Goldman Sachs, the Citigroup Management Corporation, Barclays PLC, Genworth Financial, Visa U.S.A., the Appraisal Institute, FX Alliance LLC, the Farm Credit Council and the LCH.Clearnet Group, and Thompson Reuters; and Shannon Finley who represents the Edison Electric Institute, Rent A Center and the Home Depot.

The Grassley breakfast was hosted by two JP Morgan Chase & Co. lobbyists, Nathan Gatten and Steve Patterson. Both were listed on a lobbying disclosure form for the first quarter of 2010; the company reported spending $1.5 million to raise issues on Capitol Hill related to credit card transaction fees, the modification of home mortgage loans, the regulatory oversight of bonds, short-selling practices, and use of derivatives to hedge risk.

In addition to raising money for the beneficiaries, the lobbyists hosting the events also had a chance for face time with other influential lawmakers. In fact, at a fundraiser today, three powerful members of the agriculture committee–Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., are listed as honorary hosts of a noon fundraiser for the Sen. George LeMieux’s, R-Fla, Protect America’s Future Political Action Committee.

The event also includes two hosts: Scott Reed who represents the Ben Barnes Group, a Texas state lobbying shop run by an individual who the Sunlight Reporting Group previously identified as the nation’s largest donor and bundler of campaign contributions at the federal level, and Kirsten Chadwick who represents the American Insurance Association, the Ford Motor Company, Mutual of Omaha, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Business Roundtable, and UnitedHealth Group. Both Reed and Chadwick, who was once a special assistant to President George W. Bush, have lobbied Congress in the first quarter of 2010 on financial reform issues.

The invitation to LeMieux’s fundraiser asks for a contribution of $2,500 for a PAC host, $1,000 for an individual host, $1,000 for a PAC and $250 for an individual for the “reception-style luncheon” at the National Republican Senatorial Committee to raise money for the PAC which “supports candidates who embody the values of fiscal conservatism, smaller government and strong national security.”

We contacted Sens. McConnell, Cornyn, and Grassley for comment. Sen. Cornyn’s spokesman said that the lunch was a National Republican Senatorial Committee event and referred us to that office for a comment. The spokesperson did add that the senator was in a budget mark up all day and that it was unclear if he would be present at the event.

Asked for comment about the nature of Grassley’s attendance at the fundraiser, Jill Kozeny, Sen. Grassley’s Communications Director, said “Senator Grassley attends events, like this one, to raise campaign funds for Republicans. His participation is transparent. For himself, he accepts donations that are legal and have no strings attached.”

We also staked out the building where the fundraiser was held, but didn’t see any of the senators come in or out. Some members of Congress have canceled fundraisers hosted by financial industry lobbyists and firms.

Here is a larger list of recent fundraisers for senators Party Time has found that were or will include financial reform lobbyists:

* Bob Bennett, R-Utah., Banking Committee, March 4 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $500-$2,000. Lobbyists listed: Ray Cole, David Lugar.

* Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Agriculture Committee, March 3 fundraiser; February 24 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $250-$5,000. Lobbyists listed: Gordon Taylor; David Jones.

* Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Agriculture Committee, March 10 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $500-$2,000. Lobbyists listed: Nate Gatten, Steve Patterson.

* Mike Johanns, R-Neb., Banking and Agriculture Committees. Upcoming April 29 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $1,000-$1,500. Lobbyists listed: Charles Symington.

* Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Banking Committee, March 3 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $500-$2,500. Lobbyists listed: John D. Raffaelli, David Jones, Shannon Finley, Jim Gould.

* Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Banking Committee. March 17 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $1,000-$5,000. Lobbyists listed: Tony Podesta.

* Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Ranking member Banking Committee, March 11 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $1,000-$2,000. Lobbyists listed: Dan Crowley, James Walsh, Slade Gorton.

* Jon Tester, D-Mont., Banking Committee, March 16 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $100-$1,000. Lobbyists listed: Mitchell Feuer, Shannon Finley.

* John Thune, R-S.D., Agriculture Committee, February 23 fundraiser, Contribution Information: $1,000. Lobbyists listed: hosted at VISA offices. Lobbyist Listed: Tony Podesta.

* David Vitter, R-La., Banking Committee, March 11 fundraiser; March 10 fundraiser; Feb 23 fundraiser. Contribution Information: $1,000-$2,000. Lobbyists listed: Ray Cole, Kirk Blalock, Dan Gans, Rodney Hoppe.

Here’s how you can do what we did to find out if your lawmaker has met with lobbyists working on financial reform:

1. Search the Party Time database for your lawmaker for any recent invitations in 2010.

2. Open the PDF of the invitation and see if any “hosts” or “co-hosts” are listed. Not all hosts are registered lobbyists, but an awful lot are.

3. Search the House Lobbying Disclosure database for names that could be lobbyists. We used the tiered search to better refine what we were looking for. First we selected “Lobbyist Name” and typed in the names we were looking for (you have to enter them Last Name, First Name). In the second search bar we selected “Filing Year” 2010 and in the third search bar we selected “Issue Code” Banking. We’ll follow up with more searches in the days to come.

Unfortunately invitations in the Party Time database only represent a portion of the fundraising events that take place in Washington D.C. The database consists largely of events sent to us by anonymous sources, where we then strip off all possible identifying information. If you know of a fundraiser in D.C. or in your state, please consider uploading it to our anonymous upload system.

The end of the fundraising quarter is drawing near and with it a big increase in fundraising events. Already we have 538 events logged into our database for the month of March, in contrast to 365 for February and 112 for January. This follows a similar pattern to what we saw last year, when we posted 529 events in March, 191 for February, and 233 in January.

We are seeing pleas from fundraisers come over our transom saying things like, “Is there any way you can help out Congressman x before the end of the quarter?” and “As you know, Congressman Y has gotten off to a late start…she could use any help you could give her before the 31st.” (Language changed slightly to protect our sources.)

For candidates in competitive races, picking up fundraising at the end of the quarter is a way to boost numbers reported to the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and thereby intimidate opponents. For those in safe seats, it’s also a way of brandishing power.

Consider the invite below for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “Come celebrate the end of the quarter with Sen. Chuck Grassley,” it says. While Grassley has said he won’t start campaigning formally until August, he’s been actively fundraising for since his last election. He’s already got $5 million cash on hand compared to $503,000 for  his Democratic opponent, Roslyn Conlin. While Grassley’s favorability ratings have slipped a bit lately, the race is still considered to be a solid win for Republicans.

Sen. Chuck Grassley was feted by the National Beer Wholesalers Association PAC and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc. PAC yesterday for–breakfast.  No word on whether the menu featured beverages of the alcoholic variety.

Whatever was served, this is of note: over his years in the Senate, Grassley has  collected $116,700 in campaign contributions from the beer, wine and liquor industry. One issue dear to both trade associations above is repeal of estate taxes (see here and here), an issue at play in health care reform legislation being debated now. Grassley, the ranking chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is in favor of either a repeal or lowering of the tax, reported The Hill earlier this year.

Lawmakers are celebrating today, the last day of the campaign finance reporting quarter, with nearly two dozen congressional fundraisers.

These range from this reception and dinner for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) (with special guests Sens. Mitch Mconnell (R-KY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) to this “Fiesta FUNdraiser” for Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA). This one for Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) is actually advertised as an “end of quarter lunch reception.”

Interestingly, today is not the date most partied in September. That distinction goes to last Tuesday, the 22nd, when there were at least 43 events.

To see all of today’s parties in one place, click here.

If you’re still in town, there’s a relatively cheap opportunity to schmooze chiefs of staff for several powerful GOP senators tomorrow at a “Dog Days of Summer Cookout” benefiting the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s offices.

The cost is just $100 per individual–a bargain compared to most fundraisers we document here at Party Time–and the attire is casual.

The chief-of-staff lineup includes Jackie Cottrell, who works for Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS); Rick Dearborn, for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL); Beth Jafari, for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX); Billy Piper, for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-TX); T.A. Hawks,  for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS); Kyle Ruckert, for Sen. David Vitter (R-LA); Michael Schwartz, for Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK); Ryan Thompson, for Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK); David Young, for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA); and Matt Zabel, for Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

The Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney was on hand this morning outside a breakfast fundraiser for Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) at Charlie Palmer Steak house:

Standing by the door at the start of the event, Grassley declined to say who might be attending. “You’ll have to ask Senator Roberts,” he said before walking inside.

Guests politely declined to identify themselves as they arrived. But one, a lobbyist representing the American Association of Crop Insurers, forgot to remove his name tag when he left (Sen. Roberts sits on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).

Asked what was discussed during the breakfast, the man said it was health care. He said Sen. Grassley did not discuss his upcoming meeting with other Finance Committee members — the so-called “Gang of Six” — and President Obama later in the day.

Read Delaney’s full report here.

Back in June we posted about a fundraiser for Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) hosted by an alternative health lobbyist. Now the Sunlight Foundation’s Paul Blumenthal has gone back through Federal Election Commission records and looked at the money that flowed into the senator around that date, also noting another fundraiser for the senator held two days before:

From June 22 to the end of the month Sen. Grassley raised a total of $44,700…The majority of the contributions coming in during this high water mark for Sen. Grassley’s PAC fundraising came from health professional organizations, all of whom paid equal to or above the amount required for PACs to gain entrance to the fundraising parties on June 22 and June 24.

The amount raised over the final eight days in June accounts for over one-quarter of the health and insurance PAC money raised by Sen. Grassley in the second quarter. The other three quarters came over the course of 83 days. Knowing this, it appears that the two fundraisers had the desired effect.

Last night the Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney attempted to get into the “health care roundtable” fundraiser thrown by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that we blogged about yesterday.The fundraiser was slated to feature three key senators–Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Richard Burr (R-NC).

Grassley and Enzi represent one-third of the half dozen senators who are now trying to hammer out a compromise on health care reform in a Senate Finance Committee conference room. All three are members of key health care committees, and have big health care donors.

Delaney wasn’t allowed in to the festivities:

An NRSC staffer said the event was closed to reporters. Asked if we could gain entrance for $2,000, the staffer reiterated that the event was closed.

However, he did get to talk to some of the attendees:

Some guests who walked by were kind enough to speak on the record, including Ed Lenz of the American Staffing Association. Lenz said he was hoping to get a sense from the senators of what was happening with the bill.

“It’s part of our system. It’s part of free speech,” he said. “There are people from all walks of life and all strata of society who have opportunities to have their voices heard.”

Of course in this case, being heard cost each attendee at least $2,000.

About three dozen lucky donors have the chance to gather at Charlie Palmer steakhouse tonight for a “roundtable on health care issues” featuring Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Richard Burr (R-NC)–all of whom raise big bucks from the health care industry and sit on key health care committees.

A seat at the roundtable–only 35 available–costs a PAC $2,000, payable to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. A seat at the more exclusive dinner costs a PAC $5,000, and only 20 seats are available.

The national health care debate is at a key point, with Senate leaders hoping to complete a bill before the August recess. At the time of this posting, none of the senators’ offices had returned calls requesting information about tonight’s event.

Sen. Grassley’s top lifetime donors include health professionals, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and nursing homes, and lobbyists. He is the ranking minority member of on the Senate Finance Committee. (We blogged here about a Grassley fundraiser hosted by an alternative health care lobbyist.) Grassley has gained fame recently for his idiosyncratic tweets, many on health care.

Sen. Enzi, who sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, counts the pharmaceutical industry and health professionals as his top most generous lifetime donors. The HELP committee approved a health care reform bill on July 15 along party lines.

Sen. Burr’s top all-time donor is the pharmaceutical industry.  He also sits on the Senate HELP committee, and voted against the health care reform bill.

Edited  at 4:14 p.m. Eastern to add: This just in from Sen. Enzi’s press secretary, about the senator’s attendance at the health care roundtable tonight:

Senator Enzi attends numerous NRSC events throughout the year. Since he is knowledgeable about health care, being the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member, organizers asked him to speak on that topic. He agreed. Health care is #1 on the country’s agenda right now. It’s important and Senator Enzi is happy to explain this issue from his point of view whether it be at the NRSC or the Lions Club in Lander, Wyoming. Either place, he would say the same thing. As for the use of any money, that’s up to the NRSC.