Over the next few days, quite a few members of Congress are using getaways and sports events to stock their re-election accounts.

Two members have booked suites at basketball arenas and two others have planned ski outings. One senator, Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, will be fundraising at the Lady Gaga concert in D.C. tonight, according to the invitation.

Freshman congressman Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., has invited donors to a suite at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for a college basketball game between Villanova and St. Johns on Saturday.

A seat with the former National Hockey League referee costs much more than it would normally. A mid-level suite at the arena can be had for between $3,000 and $3,750, depending on how many people squeeze in. The freshman congressman is requesting that each PAC contributes $1,500 for a spot, while each individual can get in for $750, according to the invitation.

Philadelphia area donors contributed more than $1.5 million, about half of his total fundraising, to his campaign last election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Rep. Jesse Jackson, R-Ill., will also be holding a basketball fundraiser — watching his hometown Chicago Bulls play the Wizards at the Verizon Center on Monday, according to the invitation. Jackson is charging $1,500 for a ticket.

Meanwhile, congressman Ron Kind, D-Wis., will be joined by donors for a ski and spa retreat in Park City, Utah, according to the invitation, which highlights his position on the powerful Ways and Means Committee and as a leader of the Democrats’ Blue Dog Coalition. The donation ($2,500 for individuals, $5,000 for PACs) goes towards Kind’s leadership PAC.

Jackson Hole, Wyo., a popular ski retreat, also appears to be the site of a congressional fundraiser this weekend, with the fourth annual “Winter Snow Fling” for Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. PACs can become “primary ski pass” sponsors for $5,000, according to the invitation.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, write-in-Alaska, is still the top Republican on the Senate Energy committee even as she runs to retain her seat after losing the G.O.P. primary to Tea Party-powered rival Joe Miller, but lobbyists for interests regulated by her committee are raising money for a senator in the running to be her successor.

Next week, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., – is set to hold a fundraiser, though he’s not up for re-election in 2010. On the invitation to Barrasso’s event, at least three energy industry lobbyists are listed as hosts. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who with Barrasso are the next-ranking Republicans on the Energy Committee, is also holding an event, headlined by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Burr faces voters this November.

Burr and Barrasso, like the woman they might succeed, have benefited from campaign contributions from industries they oversee. As the ranking member, Murkowski has amassed over $800,000 in campaign donations from the energy and natural resources sector, trumping all other sectors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Burr and Barrasso have received a few hundred thousand dollars less, and both have received more support from other sectors.

Both senators have a major energy company in their home states – Alpha Natural Resources (which merged with Foundation Coal) in Barrasso’s Wyoming and Duke Energy in Burr’s North Carolina — that are among their biggest campaign contributors, according to CRP.

Burr’s $2,000-per-PAC fundraiser is at the Capitol Hill eatery Johnny’s Half Shell while Barrasso is holding his annual Italian buffet event, asking donors for between $250 and $2,500, at UPS’s Hill townhouse. Two coal industry lobbyists are listed as hosts on the invitation, including one that  has lobbied on clean coal issues that Barrasso has promoted in the Senate. David DiStefano lobbied this year for Baard Energy on “energy legislation related to coal-to-liquid fuels,” according to his lobbyist disclosure form.  The company is developing a coal liquefaction plant in Ohio. The other industry lobbyist is Mark Valente of North American Coal.

Barrasso has been a supporter of clean coal technology, writing a letter criticizing a White House official for questioning the technology’s viability. He was also a co-sponsor of the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007.

Alpha Natural Resources – which merged with Foundation Coal, Barrasso’s second largest campaign donor  – has lobbied for a federal loan program for “qualifying coal-to-liquids” facilities as well as “all provisions providing incentives for investment in carbon capture and sequestration.” The company operates mines in Wyoming. Barrasso has introduced a bill to authorize the Secretary of Energy to give financial rewards for carbon capture technology.

Greg Pensabene, another host for Barrasso’s Italian buffet, lobbies for Anadarko Petroleum, part owner of the well drilled by the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which exploded causing a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Barrasso has criticized Senate Democrats for removing the oil spill liability cap entirely; he said doing so would create a monopoly for the biggest oil companies. On the Senate floor he disagreed with the “overly broad drilling moratorium that’s been imposed by the Obama Administration.”

He added that the oil spill commission was “stacked with people who philosophically oppose offshore exploration.”

Barrasso has tried to establish a separate, bipartisan commission by introducing an amendment to the energy committee’s Outer Continental Shelf Reform Act of 2010. Pensabene reported lobbying on that bill.

Burr, who planned at least three fundraisers this week, has raised nine times more money than his challenger, and his race is considered “likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report.

If Burr is offered the energy panel ranking position, he would have to step down as ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, something he told The Hill he would “seriously consider.”

Republicans elected not to remove Murkowski from top energy post since they expect her to lose in November, CNN reported. However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did push Murkowski to relinquish her spot as vice-chair of the Senate Republican Conference after she decided to run a write-in campaign.

Staffers and lobbyists have mixed at least three fundraisers this month – most recently a fundraiser for Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., where the purpose of the fundraiser was to introduce Dan Kunsman, the senator’s new chief of staff.

According to a Roll Call article, [subscription required] at least one lobbyist present at Kunsman’s debut felt the event crossed the line between legislating and fundraising.

“It was definitely a unique approach, and not one I would want repeated,” said a GOP lobbyist at the lunch to Roll Call. “It was uncomfortably close to the explicit staff access/money line.”

There have been at least two other fundraisers this month where staffers and lobbyists have crossed paths. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held its annual staffer-lobbyist dinner at Hotel Monoco. In the past, the event has raised almost $250,000. The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee also planned a June 23 fundraiser with two dozen Senate chiefs of staff, who were given top billing on the invitation, Roll Call reported.

The 2003 Senate Ethics Manual states that it’s not improper for a Senate employee to engage in campaign activity on his or her own time, so long as such activity complies with the Senate Rule that prohibits fundraising by most Senate employees for federal campaigns.

The 2008 House Ethics Manual states that staff is allowed to do campaign work as long as it’s done on their own time and their bosses don’t compel them to do it.

What constitutes an employee’s own time? According to the House manual, it is: “…determined by the personnel policies that are in place in the employing office. Time that is available to a staff member, under those policies, to engage in personal or other outside activities may instead be used to do campaign work, if the individual so chooses. This free time may include, for example, a lunch period, time after the end of the business day, and annual leave.”

Another interesting bit from the House manual: “A Member may not adjust the work requirements of the congressional office, or add unpaid interns during the campaign, in order to create more “free time” for staff to do campaign work.”

According to both manuals, however, a staffer can work part-time in Congress for a period in order to dedicate time to a campaign, with the corresponding reduction in pay.

Political insiders also looking to celebrate Cinco de Mayo today might consider the following political fundraisers around Washington tonight:

• Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., will be hosting a fiesta at UPS Townhouse tonight (nothing captures the bright colors of an authentic Cinco de Mayo celebartion like Big Brown) where political action committee hosts can contribute $5,000 and individuals can contribute $250. The invite notes that there will be LIVE Musica!
• Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., will be hosting a Cinco de Mayo Celebration at the offices of lobbying firm Dutko Worldwide (they’re helping corporations spend other people’s money to invest in Latin America, among other places) with cuisine provided by the Oaxaca Restaurant in Phoenix. Political action committees can contribute $1,000, while individuals can contribute $500.
• Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., will host a Cinco de Mayo celebration for his Wyoming Values Political Action Committee at the La Loma Mexican Restaurant in Washington where political action committee hosts can pay $1,000 and individuals can pay $100 to attend.
• Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., will be hosting a fundraiser at Lounge 201, where hosts can contribute $5,000 and individuals can contribute $500.

One lawmaker couldn’t actually wait until the fifth of May to celebrate the fifth of May. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., hosted a Cinco de Mayo celebration last night at the Capitol Hill Club. He didn’t list a contribution amount.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 and is NOT a celebration of Mexican Independence Day.

To find themed invites like Cinco de Mayo using Party Time, type in your search terms into the Partyfinder at the top of the page under the “Entertainment Type” drop-down category.

When Congress is in session, lawmakers do most of their fundraising partying at a handful of Washington hot spots clustered close to the Capitol building. With members of the House already on recess and the Senate soon to follow, however, lawmakers are taking their parties to far-flung locales, from Aleyeska Resort in Alaska to California’s Napa valley to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

• On August 14, Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) hosts an event benefiting his leadership PAC, Great Land PAC, at Alaska’s Aleyeska Resort. Activities include hiking, bike riding, fishing–and, but of course, gold mining. If your PAC pays $5,000 for a space, that amount will apply to all Great Land PAC events for the rest of the year.
• Sen. Pat Roberts is venturing far from the plains of Kansas to the valleys of Napa. On August 8, he welcomes donors to a wine tour; cost is $5,000 for a PAC to host, or $3,000 per PAC or individual to attend. The next night he hosts a dinner benefitting the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) at the farm at Carneros Inn.
• On August 10, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) is hosting his second annual “Teton Tee-Off” at the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club. Cost is $2,000 for a PAC or $1,000 for an individual–but does not include green fees. And Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is joining Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) on August 13 for “a day in the Tetons (fishing & dinner)” for Making Business Excel PAC, Enzi’s leadership PAC.

Click here to see a full listing of Party Time August events. This list is growing daily as we add in new invitations.