Party Time exists to provide the public with a free and open database of Congressional fundraisers (if you have access to any events and would like to share them with us, please do so here!). We enjoy investigating and writing about events on this blog, but we can’t cover everything. The following are some recent ways in which reporters have used our database. In many of these stories, reporters use invitations to help illustrate larger themes.

Writing for Politico, Erika Lovley uses Party Time data to highlight a rise in golfing events at public courses as lawmakers and lobbyists shy away from exclusive private clubs. The reason for the switch, she suggests, is twofold. Fundraiser organizers are trying to prevent donor fatigue while increasing attendance and lawmakers are looking to shed some of the negative stereotypes associated with golf in Washington:

Organizers have rethought some golf events usually held in home districts now that constituents are holding on tighter to their wallets. The question is, Can the outings ensure a profitable turnout? …In some cases, consultants say their clients are increasingly sensitive to the stereotype of golf as an expensive, exclusive sport, which doesn’t play well in times of economic struggle.

In an article on the Blue Dog Democrats’ influence on health care reform, Dan Eggen at the Washington Post uses Party Time data to highlight “a steady schedule of events” for Rep. Mike Ross–hosted by health care interests.

Michael Mcauliff of the New York Daily News writes that despite a lack of “lavish bashes” Senator Chuck Schumer likes to fete donors at Yankees games. In fact, the Yankees were his leaderhip PAC’s top single recipient last year, for costs associated with these fundraisers. Mcauliff illustrates the point by highlighting three fundraisers in the Bronx, taken from the Party Time database.

In their NPR Dollar Politics series, Andrea Seabrook and Peter Overby look at what goes into the crafting of important legislation. In their July 9 installment, the writers use an invitation obtained by Party Time to show how industry lobbyists court members of Congress who sit on influential committees and examine the “pay to play” mindset of lobbyists alongside politicians’ views on accepting large campaign contributions from those who their legislation will most greatly effect.

Finally, Justin Rood of ABC News writes about members of Congress soliciting lobbyists with extravagant Abramoff-esque getaways and points to a National Republican Senatorial event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that we blogged about here.

Edited to add:

Mike Beaudet of WFXT-TV in Boston contrasts the typical cost of sporting event tickets with what donors are willing to pay for access to members of Congress. He uses Party Time invitations to show that the cost of attending Red Sox events is so prohibitively high that only special interests can afford to participate.

After a four-day stretch packed with late night markup sessions and at least 40 fundraisers, it looks as if members of Congress will be taking it easy over the next few days. We have invitations to three events this weekend–an A’s/Yankees game, a wine tour and the Allstate 400 at the Indianapolis Speedway.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) leads off with a weekend getaway at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, where his guests will be treated to a wine tour and reception and then left free to explore the resort’s spa, art gallery and “world class golf course”.  Contributions of $1,000-$5,000 can be made out to his leadership committee: Invest in a Strong and Secure America (ISSA!) PAC which has raised $125,000 so far this election cycle.

Next up, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is hosting an event at the Yankees’ new stadium for his leadership PAC (IMPACT). $5,000 will reserve a seat for the game along with a tour of the new stadium before the first pitch.

Cheapie event of the weekend: Rep. Buyer (R-IN) rounds things out with a fundraiser at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Speedway. $1,500 for PACs and $500 for individuals.

One final note–Issa’s guests might want to skip the Pechanga’s scheduled stand-up.

When the Senate Finance Committee held a “roundtable discussion” the other week on “Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform,” the public witness list included academics and representatives from liberal and conservative think tanks. What wasn’t on the agenda was a list of all the unofficial witnesses–all the donors who attend fundraisers for these lawmakers in the months surrounding this hearing, whose identities remain a mystery.

We found 44 fundraisers since the start of the year for members of the committee (See list below.) Whether or not the revelers have a stake in health care policy is tough to say for sure. For most of these parties, we don’t have a clue who attended (or for those in the future, who is planning to go.)

We know that on April 30, several lobbyists from the Timmons & Company, whose clients include the American Medical Association and Teva Pharmaceuticals, hosted a breakfast at The Monocle for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. We know this only because this particular invitation is one of the few to list hosts for the event.

We also know that several of the hosts at Sen. Mike Crapo’s March 2 dinner at La Loma lobby for health care concerns. One was another Timmons & Company lobbyist, Ginger Loper. Another, Anna Sagely, lobbies for Hoffman LaRoche. And Amy Swonger lobbies for Ernst & Young, which includes Aetna and Johnson & Johnson among its clients.

Because we’re talking about the Senate, we don’t get easily digested details about campaign contributions received until long after an event. Senators file their campaign reports once every three months, so details for the second quarter of the year won’t be available until July 15. Even then, because senators have yet to pass a law requiring they file their records electronically, the only way to look up contributions would be in the old fashioned cumbersome way of going page by page. (That’s why we believe the Senate should pass S. 482 and finally join the internet age.) And even then it’s often difficult to match up contributions with any one event, since they aren’t necessarily recorded for that day or even that week.

But we do learn long after the fact that Senate Finance committee members collect many millions of dollars from health care donors and from lobbyists–check out this bar chart (click here) from the Center for Responsive Politics. So it’s an awfully good bet that there were many unofficial health care “witnesses” at all those parties for Senate Finance Committee members.