Rep. Eric Cantor has gone to bat for real estate lobbyists who party for him, supporting their legislative goals. Specifically he championed laws creating a government safety net for the commercial insurance industry to limit exposure for terrorist acts. He also backed legislation to ease tax laws for real estate
investment trusts, known as the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act.

Sandra “Sam” and Marty Depoy, the lead hosts for the Cantor carnival that Party Time analyzed for Harper’s Magazine (Click here to see it–payment required), lobby for the real estate industry.

Sandra is a vice president at the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), a trade group that represents the vacation ownership and resort industry.

Marty labors for the Bockorny group, a lobbying firm whose clients include ARDA and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), where he used to work.

Another lobbyist listed on the invitation, Robert Dibblee, is vice president of government relations for NAREIT.

Cantor was one of the early supporters after the attacks on 9/11 for legislation to create a government safety net for the commercial insurance industry to limit exposure for future terrorist acts. He also voted for a recent extension of the program in late 2007, despite criticism from some conservatives who saw the bill as a handout to the insurance industry.

Sandra DePoy’s employer, ARDA, is an enthusiastic proponent of this legislation, through a group called the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism. Martin DePoy has served as the coalition’s steering committee coordinator, and staffers for NAREIT, Dibblee’s employer, are listed as communications contacts for the group.

In 2007, Cantor also sponsored legislation to ease tax laws for real estate investment trusts, known as the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act. This was a key bill for NAREIT, Dibblee’s employer. A version of the legislation eventually was folded into the massive housing legislation passed in the summer of 2008, which bailed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Protesting the provisions concerning Fannie and Freddie, most Republicans voted against the final version of the bill, as did Cantor.)

Cantor collects more cash from the real estate industry than any other, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Some 40 percent of his own personal holdings are in finance. Cantor earned a degree in real estate from Columbia University, and in his early career worked with his family’s real estate development business.

There’s the usual chicken-and-egg question here–does Cantor’s support for the real estate industry flow from his close connections with lobbyists and donors? Or does he enjoy the support of the real estate industry because he champions it? Most likely the answer is: both. Surely it doesn’t escape a top fundraiser like Cantor that the real estate sector, even the midst of the current economic meltdown, is one of the major sources of campaign cash to lawmakers, period.

If you haven’t been under a rock lately, you know that the Bush Administration is proposing a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street. What you might not know is that there have been 258 parties this year alone for members of the House Financial Services Committee-the very folks who are making crucial decisions about this legislation-a number of them hosted by lobbyists for the finance, insurance, and real estate industries. (We later updated this list to include 357 parties planned for the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committee members.)

For example, last week, on September 16, lobbyists were invited to a “financial services” luncheon for Rep. Dean Heller at the Capitol Hill Club. The cost for entry was $500 for individuals, $1,000 for PACs. Heller has collected $190,252 from the financial sector for his congressional elections out of a total of $1,242,583, or 15.3 percent.

Then there was the invitation from the Real Estate Roundtable PAC on September 14 for folks to join Rep. Gregory Meeks to watch the New Orleans Saints play the Washington Redskins play at FedEx Field. The cost: $1,000. Meeks has taken $1,015,432 from the financial sector over his congressional career, 27.8 percent of his fundraising total-$3,657,984.

Back in late July, a list of lobbyists invited others to a beer tasting for Rep. Tom Feeney. These included Maura Solomon, a lobbyist for Citigroup Management Corp. The cost was $250 for a host, $100 to attend, and $1,000 for a PAC. Feeney has taken $1,260,480 from the financial sector in his elections for Congress, 22.1 percent of his total of $5,705,257.

Also in July, lobbyists Greg Mesack and Doyle Barlett threw a sushi reception for Rep. Kenny Marchant. The lobbyists’ firm, the Eris Group, represents a number of banks, as well as Freddie Mac, Morgan Stanley and the Mortgage Bankers Association. Attendees were asked to pay $2,000 for a host, $1,000 for a PAC, and $500 per individual. Marchant has taken $449,813 from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries for his congressional elections, 23.4 percent of his fundraising total of $1,921,414, or 23.4 percent.

And also July there was a “summer happy hour” for Rep. Michael Capuano on July 24. The party was hosted by REIT (National Association of Real Estate InvestmentTrusts) PAC and InsurPAC, the PAC for the Independent Insurance Agents of America. Lobbyist hosts included Langston Emerson, who lobbies for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts; Tom Koonce, a lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents of America. The suggested contribution was $1,000. Capuano has collected $813,176 from the financial sector over the course of his congressional career, or 18.5 percent of his total fundraising of $4,402,712, or 18.5 percent.

These are only the parties we know about-the ones we’ve managed to collect from sources. There likely were more. Plus, not all the parties have details on the invitations about who is hosting them, so it’s not easy to make the connections with financial lobbyists. That said, there are also likely other examples in our database. You are welcome to do some digging yourself-just please tell us what you find!