Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has taken the reins as acting chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee, following Rep. Charles Rangel’s (D-N.Y.) decision to take a leave of absence from this post due to ongoing ethics investigations. Levin is already scheduled to host a couple of upcoming fundraisers for fellow Democrats this month, but he'll have a long way to go if he's to match Rangel's fundraising prowess.

Levin will appear at a breakfast fundraiser for Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ken.) on March 22 at the National Democratic Club Townhouse.  A few days later on March 25, Levin will attend a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Business Council Breakfast fundraiser, where he will be joined by Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.). Party Time's database shows only two other occasions when Levin hosted fundraisers for another lawmaker - once in the spring of 2008 and once in the summer of 2008 - but bear in mind that Party Time does not receive invitations to every fundraiser, and the Michigan lawmaker may well have hosted other events.

When it comes to raising money, Levin is overshadowed by his predecessor. Since he became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 2007, Rangel raised nearly $7 million for his campaign committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2008 election cycle, he donated nearly $1.3 million to Democratic candidates, making him the second biggest donor in candidate-to-candidate contributions. Since 2007, Rangel raised nearly $2.5 million for his leadership PAC, of which a nearly $900,000 was donated to other federal candidates.

In the current election cycle, Levin has raised more than $700,000 and has donated $26,000 to fellow Democratic candidates. He has also donated $140,000 to the DCCC. In the 2010 cycle, Levin's leadership PAC has raised $18,000.

"Only two events left this quarter and Dianne Feinstein needs your help!" trumpets this invitation for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is not up for reelection until 2012. It's another great example of how politicians use the end of the quarter, on March 31, as an excuse to pile up dollars, whether they are running or not, as we blogged here yesterday. Feinstein already has $3.1 million cash on hand toward her next race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The end of the fundraising quarter is drawing near and with it a big increase in fundraising events. Already we have 538 events logged into our database for the month of March, in contrast to 365 for February and 112 for January. This follows a similar pattern to what we saw last year, when we posted 529 events in March, 191 for February, and 233 in January.

We are seeing pleas from fundraisers come over our transom saying things like, "Is there any way you can help out Congressman x before the end of the quarter?" and "As you know, Congressman Y has gotten off to a late start...she could use any help you could give her before the 31st." (Language changed slightly to protect our sources.)

For candidates in competitive races, picking up fundraising at the end of the quarter is a way to boost numbers reported to the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and thereby intimidate opponents. For those in safe seats, it's also a way of brandishing power.

Consider the invite below for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). "Come celebrate the end of the quarter with Sen. Chuck Grassley," it says. While Grassley has said he won't start campaigning formally until August, he's been actively fundraising for since his last election. He's already got $5 million cash on hand compared to $503,000 for  his Democratic opponent, Roslyn Conlin. While Grassley's favorability ratings have slipped a bit lately, the race is still considered to be a solid win for Republicans.

Tonight at the Capitol Hill Club, a long list of lobbyists will host a fundraiser for Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif), who is in a competitive race for reelection this year. Many of these lobbyists have hosted events for Lungren in the past, and represent some of his biggest campaign donors.

In all, 19 lobbyists themselves have donated nearly $30,000 to Lungren's campaign fund since 2004, based on Party Time analysis of federal campaign finance records. Their firms have also donated more than $133,000 through their Political Action Committees (PACs), and many of their firm’s clients have also donated to Lungren over the course of his career.

For example, one of the event’s hosts, Barney Skladany, of the lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, represents high-profile clients including AT&T and Johnson & Johnson, two of Lungren's top donors in this election. Skladany also represents The Dow Chemical Company, the Corrections Corporation of America, Delhaize Group, Liberty Mutual and PG&E Corp, all of which have donated to Lungren through their PACs.

Other hosts for tonight's event include Shannon Campagna, who represents Safeway Inc., James Norton, who lobbies for General Dynamics, and Tom Boyd who represents DLA Piper. All of these companies are top donors to the Lungren campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Lobbyist Louis Dupart of the Normandy Group has hosted several fundraisers for Colorado politicians in the past, lobbying on their behalf for earmarks such as the construction of Colorado's I-225 interchange, as detailed in a previous post. Dupart will host another fundraiser on March 11 for Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), to whom Dupart's wife, Theresa,  donated $500 in 2009.

Later this month, on March 18, Dupart will host yet another party for Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D). Perlmutter has secured more than $1.4 million in funding for the interchange. The construction project is currently in its final stage of completion.

The Normandy Group also represents Forest City Enterprises, the developer of a 184-acre bioscience park in Aurora, Colo. In this last election cycle, Forest City's PAC has donated $2,000 to Perlmutter's campaign. Also, in the 2008 election cycle, Forest City's PAC contributed $2,500 to Markey's campaign.

Albert Ratner, co-Chairman of the board of Forest City, donated $2,000 to Markey last year. James Ratner, chairman and CEO of the Forest City Commercial Group, and Ronald Ratner, an executive vice president and director of Forest City, each donated $500 to Perlmutter in 2006.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., formally announced his reelection bid on Feb. 22, 2010, with an open house at his Winston-Salem campaign headquarters, but the first term member has been raising money since he took office.  Since January 2009 alone, he and his campaign have sent out at least 38 invitations to fundraisers, according to our Party Time database, the great majority of them in Washington, D.C. The events have helped him raise a total of $6.7 million, $4.3 million of which he still has in the bank.

Lobbyists and Political Action Committees (PACs), some of whom represent Burr’s biggest donors, are hosts of many of these functions. One upcoming event—scheduled for March 17—lists 25 hosts alone. These include Robert Chamberlin of McBee Strategic Consulting, whose clients include FedEx Corp, a top donor to Burr’s campaign fund, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Ed Kutler, a lobbyist for Clark & Weinstock, represents another top campaign donor, AmerisourceBergen. Another host is Charles Symington, who represents the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, a top donor to Burr’s leadership PAC, the Next Century Fund.

In all, half of the top 20 donors to Burr’s campaign from 2005-2010 are represented by lobbyists or PACs hosting fundraising events for the senator, including Reynolds American, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and GlaxoSmithKline. The records do not reveal whether employees of these companies or PACs actually attended the events. Though lobbyists and lobbying firms were frequently listed in Burr's fundraising invitations, the campaign has not identified any bundled contributions raised by lobbyists to the Federal Elections Commission. The requirements for reporting bundled contributions are weak, and are easily avoided.

Of the 38 parties that raised money for Burr since January 2009, 33 of them were held in Washington, D.C., and featured 54 registered lobbyists and 21 PACs as hosts—all representing interests with business before Congress. These lobbyists and PACs have collectively given Burr’s campaign committee directly more than $106,000 in contributions, and provided opportunities for access for other donors.

Burr began 2009 as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents, with low approval ratings in the Tarheel state, but recent polling numbers show him less vulnerable than he had been. Politico pegged Burr’s race a “bellwether” for the national zeitgeist—if things seem to be swinging the GOP’s way, he “shouldn’t have much trouble winning a second term.” A recent Rasmussen poll shows he leads both of his potential Democratic rivals by wide margins. Cook Political Report currently lists the VA race as “likely Republican.”

Though his political fortunes have changed, Burr continues to hold fundraising events at a prodigious pace, attracting a wide range of Washington insiders to his campaign events:

·    Last March, nine lobbyists from the Podesta Group broke from the Democratic proclivities of their boss, Tony Podesta, and were hosts for donors invited to a breakfast with Burr. Among the companies some of them represent, which are donors to Burr: Genzyme, Tyco International, and General Electric. Collectively, these lobbyists gave Burr $5,500, spread over the period from March to June. (The nine lobbyists are: Sharon Cohen, Kimberley Fritts, Randall Gerard, Lauren Maddox, David Marin, Elizabeth Morra, John Scofield, John Shank, and Missi Tessier.)

·    Four lobbyists from BGR Holding, whose president, Bob Wood, used to work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hosted this breakfast on June 11 for the senator. Together, the lobbyists represent a long list of clients, including such Burr top donors as GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer Inc. Of the four lobbyists--Bob Wood, Jennifer Larkin, Lukawski, Loren Monroe, Mary-Lacey Reuther--Lukawski and Reuther each contributed $500 to Burr on June 29, 2009.

·    On June 24, several lobbyists representing Con-way, the trucking firm, hosted a breakfast for Burr; also listed as hosts were the PACs for the lobbying firm hired by the company, Venable LLP, and the company itself, which have each given Burr $2,500. Jim Burnley and John O'Neil both represent Con-Way at Venable; Randy Mullett (see his bio here) is  vice president of government relations and government affairs for the company. The fourth host, Diann Howland, lobbies for the American Benefits Council, where she focuses on benefits issues. She's listed as giving the senator $1,000 on June 29. Conway hired Venable in part to lobby on pension issues.

Burr’s office did not return phone calls seeking information about these fundraisers.

Two members of Congress who show up the most on invitations we collect at Party Time are House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). In their leadership capacities, Boehner and Hoyer not only collect massive amounts of money for their own campaigns, much of which they dole back out to colleagues. (See Boehner's expenditures here and Hoyer's here. ) They also act as draws at fundraising events for others.

From press reports, we know we get see a slice of all the events where Boehner and Hoyer appear. CQ Politics recently wrote that Boehner had headlined 127 events around the country in 2009 and raised $13.7 million. The interactive map below shows 53, most of them in the shadow of the Capitol building. Click on the flags to see details about the events.

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) has supported legislation aimed at lowering prescription drug prices and creating more competition in the drug industry – efforts opposed by the powerful pharmaceutical lobby.

But as she runs for reelection, her campaign is relying on two lobbyists, Mary Anne Walsh and Jenny DiJames, who represent many drug makers and other health care concerns to host March 4 fundraiser for the Buckeye state freshman.

Many of DiJames’ clients are top tier drug companies, including Pfizer, in which Kilroy holds shares. DiJames’ firm, William & Jensen, lobbied on the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2009, a bill that Kilroy co-sponsored. The bill, opposed by the drug industry, would require the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prescription drug prices in a government-run prescription plan.

Walsh, the former chief of staff to Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), has donated $750 to Kilroy’s campaign since 2008. Other clients of hers include the Akron General Hospital Systems and the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

Kilroy is also a key player pushing, along with other members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, for an end to “pay for delay” drug settlements, in which pharmaceutical companies pay generic companies not to compete against their brand name products. These settlements delay the entry of lower-cost generic drugs on the market. A ban on “pay for delay” negotiations is contained in the House approved health care bill and is also in President Barack Obama’s recent health care proposal.

In 2008, Kilroy won the election over Republican Steve Stivers by less than one percent of the vote. Stivers is challenging her again this year for a seat that has been held by a Republican for more than 40 years. Stivers is holding a fundraiser with Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar on March 5. So far, Stivers has raised more than $500,000 on the campaign trail, with notable donors including leading drug makers and insurance companies like Abbott Laboratories and AETNA. Kilroy has surpassed Stivers with more than $1 million in donations.

DiJames and Walsh did not return calls asking for comment.

An investigation of lobbying by payday lenders published today by the Huffington Post investigative fund uses Party Time invitations to help tell the tale, highlighting the role of prolific partier and lobbyist Tim Rupli.

Rupli's townhouse is the site of at least 94 parties since 2008, writes investigative reporter Keith Epstein, and "beneficiaries of the fundraisers have included members of the House Financial Services Committee." Rupli lobbies for the Community Financial Services Association, a trade association representing payday lenders.

The $42 billion-a-year payday lending industry is lobbying hard to avoid new regulation in federal financial reform legislation now being debated in Congress. In addition, payday companies are fighting some 100 pieces of legislation aimed at safeguarding borrowers from high interest rates and from falling into excessive debt that are under consideration in state capitals across the country, reports Epstein.

Money ain't a thang for Jay-Z and it won't be for several lawmakers who are hoping to cash in on the rapper's upcoming concert at the Verizon Center.

Rep. Andre Carson (D, IN-7), Rep. John Larson (D, CT-1), Rep. Sanford Bishop (D, GA-2), Rep. Ed Towns (D, NY-10), and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D, NY-11), will all host fundraisers at the Jay-Z concert on March 3. Of the five, only Clarke and Towns draw logical connections to the rapper, who is described as a "fellow Brooklyn native" in Clarke's invitation and "Brooklyn's own" in Towns' invitation.