The final push for campaign checks is in full swing, with Mar. 31 marking the end of the first quarter. That’s when campaigns have to close their books and, within 15 days, report the contributions they received to the Federal Election Commission.

Based on the invitations we have received so far, there are at least 500 fundraisers planned this month, the busiest month for such events since September 2010, which was just before the mid-term elections.

The above graph shows the number of fundraisers each month over the past year. Notice that the totals tend to spike at the end of quarters.

The next graph focuses on this month, when fundraising consultants are prodding PAC representatives and donors to send in checks before March expires. There are more than 100 fundraisers scheduled in the last three days of the month. Last week there were nearly 200 such events planned but because Congress is on recess this week, there are only a few—mostly outside the capital—scheduled for this week.

This week’s out-of-town moneymakers include Rep. Collin Peterson’s, D-Minn., three-day central Florida turkey hunt for his leadership PAC and Mike Ross’s, D-Ark. trip to an Arkansas racetrack and casino, both scheduled for this weekend. On the West Coast, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., planned an eponymously named golf tournament yesterday, according to the invitation.

Next week, Reps. John Barrow, D-Ga., and Tom Price, R-Ga., are each fundraising at Nationals Park on Opening Day. At the upscale Palm Steakhouse, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has planned its second fundraiser this month aimed at labor interests. That comes at a time when state legislatures have passed recent laws to limit public unions’ bargaining rights.

Taking advantage of last best chance to raise money off D.C. baseball before the August recess, at least five Congressmen have scheduled fundraisers at Nationals Park next week for the teams’ series against the Braves.

Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., though he planned the July 27 fundraiser at Nationals Park long ago, got lucky, as his $5,000-per-PAC and $1,000-per-person fundraiser lands on a night when the Nationals’ precocious pitcher Stephen Strasburg is on the mound.

The 21-year-old sure can fill up the seats. On nights he starts, Nationals Park attendance increases by more than 15,000. Calls to Rep. Conyers’ office to ask if Strasburg has boosted interest in the fundraiser were not returned.

The only bigger draw than Strasburg this week might be longtime home run king and former Braves slugger Hank Aaron, billed as a special guest at at Rep. John Lewis’s, D-Ga., fundraiser on Wednesday evening. To be named a host, the ask is $5,000; one could get in without the ‘host’ title for $1,500.

Another Georgia lawmaker, Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., building a war chest for a November challenge, is taking advantage of a visit by his hometown team — perhaps the best in the National League — to attract donors, who are asked to contribute $1,000-per-person and $2,000-per-PAC.

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., is asking for contributions of $1,000 to $5,000 to watch the game with him on Wednesday.

At Thursday’s day game, the series finale with the Braves, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is charging $1,000 for a ticket, $2,500 for a co-sponsorship.

Each lawmaker is charging far more than the most expensive seat in the house: $325 to sit right behind home plate. The cheapest upper deck seats can be had for $10. Luxury suites range from $3,000 for the Jefferson level to $4,200 at the Lincoln level to $7,000 for the Washington level.

If all goes according to schedule, Strasburg will also pitch against Philadelphia on Sunday, Aug. 1.

At two Bruce Springsteen concerts in DC last year there were more than a dozen fundraisers held for members of Congress, according to a Washington Post article today.

Reporters at the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica and the Post wrote about these fundraisers using Party Time data and combined it with campaign finance and lobbying reports, identifying some of the organizations involved with these fundraisers.

Here’s a complete list of all the fundraiser fliers for the concerts Party Time collected last year:

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., May 2009.

Democratic Congressional Committee/Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., May 2009.

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., May 2009.

Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., Nov 2009.

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., May 2009.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., May 2009.

Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., May 2009.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., Nov 2009.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Nov 2009.

Rep. John Carter, R-Tex., Nov 2009.

Rep. Ed Towns, D-N.Y., Nov 2009.

Rep. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa., Nov 2009.

Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., Nov 2009.

Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., May 2009.

Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., May 2009.

Rep. Ed Towns, D-N.Y., May 2009.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., May 2009.

Rep. Tom Harkin D-Iowa., May 2009.

Elham contributed to this report.

The Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney reports that canceled health care hearings this week cleared the calendar for Blue Dogs to fundraise as planned:

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce was supposed to be the third leg supporting health care reform legislation already approved by two other House committees. Instead, this week it’s become more of a fifth wheel. The committee’s markup sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled in the face of opposition to the bill from the panel’s conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats.

So Monday’s markup may have lasted past midnight, but on Tuesday evening the committee’s Blue Dogs were free to party, and party they did! Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) feted fellow Blue Dog Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Northwest Washington from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Ross is the lead Blue Dog on health care reform.

Read more here.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is beginning mark up of the health care reform bill today, have numerous fundraisers on their schedules. See an updated list here. As reported here previously, a number of these parties are hosted by health care lobbyists:

In Party Time’s continuing analysis of fundraising parties for members of key health care committees (Click here), we have found at least 161 invitations for events for members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee since the start of the year (and counting–we continue to add more invitations here every day).

Only a small fraction of these contain information about hosts for these parties. However, among these are several featuring health care lobbyists who represent clients such as Humana, Inc., Federation of American Hospitals, and Laboratory Corp of America:

• Several lobbyists working for the Alpine Group–Rhod Shaw, Greg Means, Jim Massie, and Charles Barnett, planned a dinner on May 20 for Rep. Mike Ross, a Democrat from Arkansas. Their clients include the Biotechnology Industry Association, the Medical Imaging Contrast Agent Association, and the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals. Ross has collected more than $833,000 in campaign contributions from health care interests over his years in Congress.
• Rep. Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, is raising money for his 2010 Senate race. An April 23 rooftop breakfast was planned by several lobbyists, including Mark Anderson, Roy Coffee, and Dave DiStefano, who lobby for Humana Inc. (Their firm, Locke Liddell Strategies, provided the rooftop).  Sam Geduldig, whose clients include Barr Laboratories was also listed, as was Joe Wall, who represents the Independent Agents & Brokers of America. Blunt has collected $1.6 million in campaign contributions from the health care sector for his congressional races.
• Another party for Blunt was planned for February 4 at Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse. Four of the lobbyist hosts listed–Mark Isakowitz, Kirsten Chadwick, Mike Chappell, and Samantha Cook–lobby for the firm Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, where their clients include the Corporate Health Care Coalition, the Coalition for Competitive Pharma Marketing, and the American Insurance Association.
• A gaggle of pharmaceutical lobbyists are planning a “pharmaceutical meet and greet” breakfast for Rep. John Barrow, a Democrat from Georgia. In an interesting twist, this invitation states “no contribution required.” However, an address is nevertheless is provided for donors who do want to send a check. The pharmaceutical industry has not been one of his biggest donors in the past. The lobbyists are Eli Joseph, who represents Merck & Co; Libby Greer, who also has Merck as a client; Matthew Sulkala, who lobbies for the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufactures Association of America; and Anne Wilson, who represents Pfizer, Inc.

[Thanks to intern Josh Heath, who helped provide research for this post.]