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.

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.

The Huffington Post’s Arthur Delaney attempted to attend a fundraising luncheon for Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) without success. (You can see the invite for the event here):

Alas, the congressman and whoever else showed up to the 10th floor meeting managed to escape without being greeted by the Huffington Post. (The building had multiple elevators and exits, and this reporter has been told that he is no James Bond.) Ross’ office did not respond to requests for details about the guest list.

Federal law does not require politicians to disclose who attends their fundraisers. The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation posts invitations for upcoming events on its website, www.politicalpartytime.org, as it acquires them through Hill sources. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, health professionals are the top donors to Ross’ campaign and political action committee for the 2010 election cycle.

On Monday evening Ross declined to tell the Huffington Post what the Blue Dogs wanted from closed-door negotiations with Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who later announced that Tuesday’s markup would be canceled.

If they hailed from the health care industry, it’s no surprise Ross wouldn’t want to share info on his lunch guests, either. Fundraising is a touchy topic as the industry dumps money into politicians’ campaign coffers in hopes of heading off revenue-killing reforms.

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.]