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.

A self-proclaimed lobbyist for an alternative health organization–who left a prominent conservative group more than a decade ago under a cloud of financial mismanagement–is hosting a fundraiser next week for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Grassley, who recently earned fame for his tweets on health care, has a reputation as a strong crusader for drug safety. But he has also has championed policies favoring the alternative health industry, which some consumer critics charge is not adequately regulated by the federal government.

Sam Brunelli, who works for the Whitaker Health Freedom Foundation, the political arm of the Freedom of Health Foundation, and his wife, Robin Read, are feting Grassley at a breakfast on June 24 at the Capitol Hill Club. The Foundation, headed by Dr. Julian Whitaker of dietary supplement fame, states it opposes the government and the pharmaceutical industry whenever they “suppress the truth about alternative medical therapies and/or nutritional supplementation.” Read is president and CEO of the Foundation for Women Legislators, which includes Dr. Whitaker on its board. The Freedom of Health Foundation did not return a call inquiring about the event.

Brunelli is introduced as a lobbyist on the organization’s Web site, here; however there are no official records of his work at least as a federal lobbyist here, according to lobbyist disclosure reports. The most recent available tax forms filed by the Whitaker Health Freedom Foundation, the political arm, claim a budget of just $34,000 and make no mention of payments to staff. (See the organization’s 1998 990 form here.)

Brunelli formerly served as executive director of the conservative group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which works to advance conservative state legislators. He left the group in 1995 over charges of mismanagement and personal enrichment, according to a 1995 National Journal report.

Grassley goes to bat for alternative health care therapies

Grassley has earned a reputation as an active watchdog of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pushing to strengthen the agency’s regulation of pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices and arguing for tough conflict-of-interest laws for researchers. Indeed he won an award this year from the National Research Center for Women & Families because “his willingness to challenge the FDA has saved the lives of adults and children by helping remove unsafe medical products from the market.”

However, Grassley also has long been a supporter of alternative health care therapies and has enjoyed support from the “health freedom” movement, which opposes strong regulation of supplements.

In 1994, Grassley co-sponsored a law championed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act. This law established the U.S. Food and Drug Administation’s (FDA) authority to regulate dietary supplements–but as a food rather than a drug. This means supplements can be marketed without any requirements that they first be proven safe or effective, as pharmaceuticals must be.

After much national attention about the dietary supplement ephedra, which was linked to injuries and deaths, Congress in 2006 passed a law to require that dietary supplement manufacturers report adverse effects–which passed the Senate by unanimous consent. (Public Law No: 109-462). However, the FDA still lacks the resources and authority to protect consumers from unsafe dietary supplements, according to a May 2009 GAO report.

Grassley has also earned plaudits from the alternative health community for co-sponsoring legislation to permit doctors to use any treatment a patient wants–including unapproved therapies or medications. (S 2618, 2006). And he’s gotten cheers from the American Chiropractic Association for serving as “one of chiropractic’s strongest allies.”

In 1998, the senator co-sponsored legislation to expand an alternative health care program at the National Institutes of Health; the new office became known as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  (S. 2420, funded as part of omnibus spending bill, H.R.4328) Since 1999, the office has spent $2.5 billion on studies exploring such topics as the effectiveness of ginkgo biloba for improving memory and shark cartilage for treating cancer. (Neither proved any better than placebos).

Grassley has managed to secure some money from the center for projects in his home state of Iowa. In 2007, he announced that the NIH office was giving $191,672 to Drake University for a project called “Reproductive and Behavioral Effects of Genistein,” which is exploring whether soy products eaten by pregnant women have a harmful effect on male fetal development. Another grant, for $110, 592, went to the Palmer College of Chriopractic in Davenport, for a project called “Expanding [Evidence Based Medicine] and Research Across the Palmer College of Chiropractic.” In 2002, the senator helped steer $110,250 to the University of Iowa to study the “neurobiology of joint manipulation induced analgesia,” as reported by the Associated Press. (Translation: that means pain relief from manipulating the body rather than using drugs.)

Unlike Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who are also champions of the alternative health industry, Grassley has not collected large amounts in campaign contributions from the nutritional and dietary supplement industries in the past, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

[Intern Josh Heath contributed research to this post.]